A better life
by Metalguy
Summary: What if Naruto told Sasuke and Sakura about Kyuubi early on? And, what is this deal Kyuubi offers him to make his life better? Naru/Saku OOC
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys this is the first story I have ever wrote so I hope it won't dissapoint you. It begins at the team selection.**

"Normal speech"

_"Thoughts"_

_**"**__Inner Sakura"_

**"Kyuubi"**_****__  
_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or its characters.  
**

* * *

Naruto was walking down the hallway of the academy heading towards his classroom deep in thought about what he just learned was sealed within him. When he acknowledged his surroundings, he came to the realization that he was already outside the door. He slowly opened the door and as soon as he got inside, everyone stopped what they were doing and glared at him.

"Hey what are you doing here loser?" asked one of the guys in the room "Only the ones who graduated are allowed here"

Naruto, who was still in his train of thought, just took a glance at the one who asked and answered in a whisper "That's why I'm here. Now mind your own business and leave me alone."

Sakura, who was sitting near Naruto, heard what he answered. "_What's with him, he's not usually like that. Well not that I care…"_

Naruto was walking up the stairs towards a desk when someone suddenly stuck their feet to make him fall, but what happened, no one expected. Naruto punched the guy in the face and his whole expression darkened. "What the hell is your problem? What have I ever done to any of you guys to be treated like I'm not even human? The ones who treat me worse than anyone else here are the teme's fangirls. You think that doing all those things you will gain the bastard's attention? And if you are here just to impress duck-ass over there, then I suggest you leave because you're here for the wrong reasons"

Everyone was shocked by the blonde's words, even Sasuke, but eventually most of the fangirls shrugged it off as something the dobe said and that because he said it, it was stupid but if people could read some of the ones that actually thought about it, they would be really surprised.

"_I think I underestimated Naruto, maybe he's not as stupid as I thought. And if what he said enters the thick skulls of those damned fangirls of mine, I will finally be free" _thought Sasuke.

"_What if what Naruto said was true? Am I here for the right reasons? Besides I think it's time I moved on. I mean Sasuke-kun is handsome and everything but, has he really paid attention to me?" _Thought Sakura "_Now that I think of it, none of my attempts to ask him out have worked and besides even if he said yes, hes too cold for me. I doubt he's everything I dreamed of"_

**"_I'ts about damn time you noticed" _**said Inner Sakura

"_You mean you knew and never told me? Why?"_

**"_I wanted you to come to accept the fact that the Sasuke you said you love is not the one out there. Besides, there is someone who is everything you ever dreamed of and more but I'll let you find out who he is"_**

"_Come on! Please!"_

**"_I will only tell you that you will be very surprised as to who it is but when you give him a chance, you will not regret it" _**and with that, Inner Sakura left.

* * *

Five minutes passed since Naruto gave his little speech and Iruka walked through the door with some papers in his hands. As soon as he saw Naruto he smiled, but when he noticed the look on his face, his face fell a little. "_He must be thinking about yesterday" _thought Iruka.

"Good morning everyone. I want you to know that I'm very proud of each and every one of you. I knew that you had the potential to become shinobi and kunoichi of Konoha." Said Iruka "Now I'm sure you're excited to know who is on your teams".

When he said that, he knew that he got everyone's attention.

"Please tell me that I'm with Sasuke-kun!"

"I'm sorry Ino, but wait until I start and before I read, please don't get your hopes up as you may be with people you may not like but know that you have to put your differences aside to work well with each other" said Iruka.

"Okay so Team 7 has Hatake Kakashi as their sensei and the members are: Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke."

When he said that, he expected to hear Sakura and Naruto cheer, but it didn't happen. What did happen though was that all the fangirls glared at both of Sasuke's teammates and Ino gave a loud groan after losing to her long time rival.

"Team 8: sensei Yuuhi Kurenai, members: Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuga Hinata and Aburame Shino" As soon as he finished talking, a tall raven haired woman with red eyes and covered in bandages came in.

"Team 8 come with me" she said before leaving with her students in tow.

"Because Team 9 is still active, we'll move on to Team 10 which consists of Sarutobi Asuma as their sensei and Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chouji". As soon as he said that he swore he heard someone mutter troublesome and someone's head hitting a desk.

"Team 10, we're leaving" said a man with a beard. He was wearing the standard jounin uniform along with a sash and bracelets on both his hands.

After Team 10 left, Iruka finished calling all the teams but Team 7 had yet to leave. He wanted to have a little talk with Naruto about his out of character behavior before he left, so he called him over.

" Hey Naruto, do you have a second?" he asked.

"Sure Iruka-sensei" Naruto replied.

"Are you ok? I noticed you have been like that since I came here earlier today. And you didn't even cheer when you heard you where on the same team as Sakura and I know you really like her."

"Don't get me wrong, I'm really happy about that but understand that now that I know why I've been hated for so long, I've thought about who I should tell. I mean both Sasuke and Sakura deserve to know even if we don't really get along but I think it's important for our teamwork. I also wanted to tell Kiba, Shika and Chouji as they're my only real friends. Also there's one more thing. You, Hokage-jiji , the guys and the Ichirakus are the only ones who know that the personality I show is just a mask and that I'm actually smart. I've been thinking that since I'm a shinobi now, it would be best for me to act like such and drop the act but not to the point where I don't talk with anyone."

Iruka sighed before answering "Do as you think is better. I think that your friends would accept you even after you tell them about Kyuubi. And about the mask, you're right but it could come in handy during battles to make you opponent underestimate you"

"Thank you Iruka-sensei. I'm glad I talked to you. I feel more at peace with myself." Said Naruto

"Glad to know I was of help" said Iruka before giving Naruto a small hug "You up for ramen tonight? My treat."

"Sure! Thank you again"

"Don't mention it" and with that, he left the room leaving Team 7 alone.

* * *

While Naruto and Iruka were having their conversation, Sasuke was surprised that Sakura had not even once tried to go near him and set himself to find out the reason. "_Maybe she considered what the dobe said. If that happened, then maybe this would be the perfect team for me as Naruto seems more reserved and Sakura no longer looks like she is interested in me"_

"Hey Sakura" said Sasuke

"Oh, yes Sasuke?" she replied

"_What? No kun after my name? This has to be the best thing Naruto has ever done" _thought Sasuke "Not that I care, but weren't you like one of my biggest fangirls?" asked Sasuke.

"Oh, that. Well after Naruto gave his little speech earlier, I realized that I was nowhere near as infatuated with you as I so freely said. Truth is, I think I was never actually in love with you and now that I came to accept it I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders" Sakura answered "You're not mad that you lost a fangirl, are you?"

"Mad? No. Relieved? Yes. I'm actually happy that you no longer like me like that as we can now work without having to go through the same things and now that the dobe looks a little more mature, I'm sure we will be a good team"

Just as Sakura was about to answer, the door opened to reveal a funny looking guy. He had a weird hairstyle that seemed to defy gravity and was dressed as most jounin with the exception of a mask that covered half his face and his headband covered his left eye. "Meet me at the rooftop" and with that he disappeared in a poof of smoke.

"Kagebunshin" stated Naruto simply before walking outside with a face that none of the two had ever seen him use.

They shrugged it off and followed him outside.

* * *

When they reached the rooftop, they found ther sensei already there.

"Alright, how about you tell me your names, likes, dislikes, hobbies and dreams?" he said with a bored voice as if he wanted to be somewhere else at that moment.

"Eh, aren't you supposed to introduce yourself first sensei?" asked Sakura.

"Alright *sigh* my name is Hatake Kakashi. What I like or dislike is not important, hobbies I don't have one and dreams, ehhh" he said pointing at Naruto "you first blondie"

"_All he said was his name!" _was the shared thought of the three teammates.

"Uhh sensei I would rather talk after them as what I have to say is rather important" Naruto said with a downcast expression.

"_So he is going to tell them about the Kyuubi. Good luck Naruto, even if they don't accept you, I will. I will not fail you sensei" _"Alright, I have a clue as to what you may say so I will let it slide this time. Well moving on, how about you?" he said nodding towards Sasuke.

"I'm Uchiha Sasuke and I don't like many things and I dislike most. My hobbie is to train to accomplish not a dream, but a goal that is to kill a certain man and revive my clan." He said with his arms crossed.

"_I knew he would say something like that. I will try to take him out of that path that will lead him nowhere." _"Pinky" he said making Sakura a little mad.

"First, my name is not pinky, It's Haruno Sakura. I like spending time with my friends, I dislike people who used to bully on me because of my forehead, my hobbie is reading and learning and I don't have a dream yet but I hope to get one soon." She finished with a huff.

"_Interesting, I thought she would be the typical fanfirl but she proved me wrong. Well Naruto, good luck." "_Okay last but not least, you." Naruto swore he could se comprehension on his sensei's eyes but shrugged it off.

"Well *sigh* I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I like ramen, I dislike the three minute wait for ramen to be ready, people who think they're better then others and those who judge without knowing me. My hobbie was to prank people and my dream is to become the greatest Hokage ever and to be acknowledged by everyone." after he said that, he took a deep breath "Sasuke, Sakura-chan, there's something really important you need to know if we're going to be a team and trust me that it's not easy to tell you this and I understand if you don't want to be near me anymore"

"_what could be so bad?" _was what was running through their heads when Naruto said that.

"Well, I think I should start by saying that the Naruto you knew was a mask. A mask used to deceive everyone to make them underestimate me and I guess it worked." He paused and looked at the surprised face of their teammates "During our time together you will know the real me and know that I'm nowhere near stupid as I showed."

After that, he paused before adding "I'm sure you have seen the looks people give me around here." When he saw them nod, he continued "What I'm going to tell you, I ask that you don't tell anyone as it is a S-class secret that has death as punishment. I'm going to ask what you know about the Kyuubi attack 12 years ago"

Sasuke said "The Yondaime Hokage risked his life killing the beast" Sakura nodded.

They were astonished when Naruto said "Bullshit"

"What do you mean? That's what Iruka-sensei told us during class" said Sakura

"It is impossible to kill a being completely made of chakra, so the only thing the Yondaime could do, was seal it, but he couldn't seal it in an object. It had to be done in a human being, but an adult already had their chakra coils developed so the only option left was a baby. The baby the Yondaime used to seal the Kyuubi no Kitsune to save the village was me. Not only that, but I also never knew my parents and for all my life I thought they had abandoned me. That is what I wanted to tell you and thank you Kakashi-sensei for understanding" Kakashi nodded softly and sadness was very visible in his lone eye as the man who died sealing the beast was none other than his own sensei.

To say that Sakura and Sasuke were shocked would be the understatement of the year. Everything started to come into place. The glares, the mobs, the name-calling. It was clear why their teammate was treated that way now.

Sasuke was the first to recover from the major shock "_He has even had a worse life than me. At least I was loved at some point but he never had a family. Besides having to carry a burden like that alone must be tough. You won't be alone. That is the least I can do. Besides I was starting to doubt if my ambition was what I really wanted or if it was what Itachi had planned all along."_

Sakura's thoughts were not that different "_Wow I never even knew that he had no family. I guess this is why mom wanted me to be friends with him but I was to stupid following the crowd and caring about my public image."_

**"_So what will you do about it? It is crystal clear that he likes us, so why don't you give him a chance? He's cute and really nice to us. Not to mention what mom said when we were younger."_**

"_I guess you're right but he has to ask me out and it will be as friends. I want to get to know him first. I don't want it to be like the Sasuke thing all over again"_

**"_That's my girl. Now tell him something before he gets worried"_**

"Naruto, I want you to know that I will help you with whatever you need and that I'm actually happy that its you who holds the Kyuubi as I know you would never use its power for the wrong reasons" Sakura said smiling.

"You know what dobe, you're not as bad as you seem and now that I think about it, you have had a worse life than I had and here you are, looking towards the future rather than at the past. Thank you for helping me realize that I shouldn't dwell in the past. If you ever need anything let me know." Said Sasuke with what seemed to be a smile.

At this point, Naruto had tears in his eyes "Thank you guys, you don't know how much this means to me"

"_I have known them for less than an hour and they already made me proud. They will go really far." _Kakashi thought "Well now that that is settled, tomorrow meet me at training grounds #7 for your real genin test. Oh and don't eat breakfast sa you will throw up." He said with an eye smile "Ja ne" and he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

"See you guys tomorrow" said Sasuke as he left.

"So, uh… Sakura-chan …uhmm… would you like to uh have lunch with me?" said Naruto red from the embarrassment of asking the girl of his dreams out.

"Sure" she said smiling but then added "but only as friends as I'm still sorting out my feelings and I would like to get to know you better before anything happens between us"

"Hey I waited for years, I can wait a little more" he said with his foxy grin.

"Let's go then" she said and with that they left towards the Ichiraku ramen stand as it was the only one that let Naruto in.

* * *

**R&R**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the reviews! Here is second chapter**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

When they got to Ichirakus, it was a Little past midday. As soon as Teuchi saw Naruto, he smiled only for it to turn to a grin that threatened to split his face when he noticed Sakura and decided to tease them a bit.

"Hey Naruto, nice to see you got yourself a girlfriend!" exclaimed Teuchi

Both teens blushed as Naruto answered "We're just friends ojii-san!"

"Whatever you say boy" he said "Well what will you have?"

"I'll have an extra large miso ramen!" shouted Naruto making Sakura giggle at his childish antics. "What about you Sakura-chan?"

"A small vegetable ramen please" she said "So, Naruto there's something I've been wanting to ask you for a long time"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Why do you always use that bright orange jumpsuit? Haven't you thought that it may attract unwanted attention while on missions?"

"Well, truth be told, this is the only thing I have to wear. Where I bought it only sold it to me to get rid of it. And I'm not allowed on any store alone so I guess you get what I'm trying to say" said Naruto sadly

She gasped "If that's the case, then let's eat so I take you shopping! I'll get you new clothes and get to know you at the same time" she finished smiling.

"Thank you, thank you so much Sakura-chan! This means a lot to me" he said with a real smile.

"_Wow, I think this is the first time I've seen him actually happy and not pretending like always"._

They hurried eating and Sakura literally dragged Naruto to the shopping district of the village thinking about what colors would suit Naruto ignoring his cries of pain.

She entered a shinobi armor store and awed at the sight of so many clothes but she was snapped back to reality when she heard the clerk ushering her friend out.

"Hey what do you think you're doing!" she exclaimed angry.

The clerk sneered "The demon brat is not allowed to shop in my store"

"Well he will not buy anything and he is with me. If you bother us again, I will report you with the hokage, shannaro!" she said allowing a little of her Inner out to scare the man.

He left without even sparing Naruto or her a glance and went back to what he was doing. While this was going on, Naruto was surprised that she stood up for him but as soon as the man left, Sakura went back to the task at hand.

She went through racks of clothes until something caught her eye. "Naruto, try this on" she said giving him a full outfit.

When he came out of the fitting rooms, Sakura blushed

"_**Shannaro! Look at our man!"**_

"_He's not our man!...yet"_

"_**HA! You said yet so that must mean you have considered being with him"**_

"_Well, I know that this is fast. I mean this morning I woke up liking Sasuke but it's all about Naruto now. I think I know who the guy you mentioned earlier was. It was Naruto wasn't it?"_

"_**Yes and about the other part, do you regret starting to fall for him?"**_

"_NO! you were right. Now that I'm spending time with him, I realized that everything I thought Sasuke was, Naruto actually is."_

"_**I think you should say something. He's getting worried. OH! I think you have a little of blood running down your nose" **_

"Sakura-chan! Are you ok? You weren't answering so I got worried" said Naruto

She furiously wiped the blood off her nose before replying "Sorry Naruto-kun, but that outfit really suits you"

He was wearing a black shirt with no sleeves, red and black fingerless gloves and black pants with an orange line going down his left leg. Naruto blushed when she added the kun next to his name and looked like he was going to pull a Hinata when she complimented his looks. "Thank you Sakura-chan" he said barely above a whisper.

"Let's go pay this and leave this place"

They paid the clerk, who was scowling, and left.

"I had a great time, Naruto-kun" Sakura said with a smile and blushing a little.

"Same here, Sakura-chan. This has been the best day in my life" he said smiling widely.

"I bet I can make it better" and with that she did the most unexpected thing. She kissed Naruto on the cheek and hugged him before running home.

He didn't know how long he stood there, but he couldn't care less. The girl he had a crush on since they were 7 had kissed and hugged him! He didn't think that his day could get any better than that.

Suddenly an ANBU man appeared before him "Hokage-sama asked for you immediately"

"_I wonder what Hokage-jiji wants"_ Ok, let's go" and with that the ANBU placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder and both disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

* * *

When Sayaki saw her daughter with a smile on her face, she asked "Sakura, dear, why are you so happy? Does it have anything to do with your team? Who are you with?" _"Maybe she got teamed up with the Uchiha boy she likes. Oh well what can I do."_

"Yes kaa-san, it has to do with my team. I am with Sasuke and Naruto-kun" she said smiling

"Wait, Naruto-kun? And no kun after Sasuke's name? Who are you and what did you do with my daughter" said Sayaki with a chuckle

"Well, I realized that Naruto has everything I wanted in Sasuke and besides he's cute" she was blushing by this point

"I guess there's more to it?"

"Yes. Naruto-kun told us about what he has within him and after the team meeting I went to have lunch and shopping for new clothes for him"

Sayaki smiled "So you finally gave him a chance. I'm proud of you for not thinking Naruto is the Kyuubi like the rest of this foolish village. So did anything else happen on that little date of yours for you to be as happy as you are?"

Sakura's whole face went red with embarrassment "Well… I uhh...kissed him on the cheek and hugged him" she said looking away

"So, what or rather who made you stop liking the Uchiha? Because this morning you were hoping to be with him"

"Well, it was Naruto-kun who made me realize that Sasuke wasn't what I thought he was and also opened my eyes to see that if I became a ninja just to impress Sasuke, then it was not for a real reason"

"So now why do you want to be a ninja?"

"To protect my village and its people just like Naruto-kun" she said with determination in her eyes

Sayaki could only smile and be proud of her daughter not only for finding a new goal but also for finding out the truth about her teammate and accepting him "_My little girl is growing up"_

* * *

Sarutobi Hiruzen was waiting for the hyperactive blonde to show up as he had some things to discuss with him. He had witnessed the moment Naruto told his teammates about his tenant and was proud of the new generation. He also spied on Naruto's and Sakura's date and was happy for the boy he considered a grandson.

Suddenly, a knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. "Come in" he said with a stern voice that grew into a smile when he saw it was Naruto.

"What's up ojii-san?" asked Naruto with his trademark grin and his hands behind his head

"Hello Naruto-kun. I see you got new clothes. May I ask who you went shopping with? It suits you by the way" said the old man smiling knowingly

Naruto blushed before answering "Sakura-chan chose them for me. This has been the best day in my life!"

"Oh? Care to enlighten me?" said Hiruzen mockingly

"Well, when we went to meet our sensei, I told my team about the fox and I expected them to shun me as everyone else, but they accepted me and Sakura-chan finally agreed to go out with me!" he was smiling brightly when he finished, but Sarutobi saw it was a real one, not those fake smiles he gives most of the time.

"I'm happy for you my boy. Now I know your sensei is Kakashi. Would you like for me to tell you some stuff about him and his little test he has planned for you tomorrow?"

"Really ojii-san? You would do that for me?" he asked practically jumping with joy

"Sure. Well the first thing you need to know, is do not underestimate him. He may seem like he's not that strong, but he's an elite jounin and one of the best we have. He is widely known as the Copy Ninja and he is on the Bingo Books of a lot of villages." The hokage said "He is also a big, and I do mean it when I say it, pervert. Not the class who will peek on girls, like my former student Jiraiya, but Kakashi is always reading that disgusting smut book of his which non-surprisingly was written by Jiraiya. One more thing, his sensei was none other than the Yondaime Hokage"

"_Great. Just what I needed, a super pervert as a sensei. I guess that since he is that strong, it doesn't matter, but if he tries anything funny with Sakura-chan, I will personally kill him" _thought Naruto angrily

The Sandaime just chuckled at the boy's expression while getting up to ruffle his hair. "Now boy, don't go around trying to kill your sensei. Well, to the second part of what I was going to tell you, you can tell your teammates but do not let Kakashi know I told you." He said adding a wink on the last part

"You got it!"

"Now, now, your test is about teamwork. I'm pretty sure it is the same test he has used on every team he got before you, but because none of them figured out the true intention of it, all of them failed. This test was first used by Kakashi's sensei on his team. What he wants you to do is to drive you apart by telling you that one of you will fail. You must stick together at all times to succeed."

"Is it ok if I tell Sakura-chan and Sasuke?" he asked

"You can tell them. Oh! One more thing before you leave. Eat a good breakfast. He told you not to do so because he wants you to be at a disadvantage. Take something for your friends too just in case. You will have time because Kakashi is always two and a half hours late to everything"

"Thank you ojii-san! I will get going now. I have to be ready for tomorrow." And with that, Naruto left.

* * *

The next day, Sakura woke up at 5am to get ready for her test. She went to the bathroom and started undressing. When she entered the shower, she let out a sigh at the feel of the warm water. That was the moment where her Inner decided to make herself known.

"_**So, how are you going to take it with Naruto-kun? I know that this is a little fast but try going out with him again or ask him over for dinner. I'm sure kaa-san wouldn't mind."**_

"_I know that I should take it slow but when I hugged him yesterday it felt so right and I had to contain myself from giving him a full kiss on the lips then. I don't know if I will be able to stop next time. I think I really am starting to fall for that knucklehead" _she thought while washing her hair.

"_**Then talk with him about it. Maybe doing so would help you understand it better"**_

"_You're right! Today after the test, I will have a talk with him! I would like to talk with him before we start but I'm sure there won't be time as sensei would get mad."_

She turned off the shower and dried herself before brushing her teeth. In her room, she picked a red sleeveless dress and tight dark blue pants. As soon as she was ready, she went downstairs to leave as an hour had already passed.

"Dear, aren't you going to have any breakfast?" asked her mother from the kitchen

"Sensei said if I eat anything, I will throw up so I'm leaving now. Bye mom, I love you" and with that she left.

* * *

When she arrived at Training Grounds #7, she saw that she wasn't the first one there as Naruto was lying on the ground watching the clouds.

"Hey there Sakura-chan" he said enthusiastically

"Hi Naruto-kun" she said with a smile that made Naruto's heart flutter

"Here, eat this. Sensei told us not to eat because he wanted us to be at a disadvantage. And before you ask me how I know, the old man told me." Naruto said casually "Also there's something else about the test I need to tell you when teme arrives"

Sakura giggled at his nickname for Sasuke and accepted the bento he was offering her "Thank you, Naruto-kun"

"One more thing. Ojii-san also told me that Kaka-sensei tends to be late to everything by two and a half hours so we got some time to kill" he said laying back down

"_Yes! Now I can talk with him about us." _"Uhh, Naruto?"

"Yeah Sakura-chan?"

"I wanted to talk about us" she said "I wanted to tell you that when I hugged you yesterday, I felt safe and loved and I liked that feeling. I wanted to ask you if you wanted us to become a …couple?" she was unsure about how he would react to that but hoped he would accept as it was hard for her to tell him that.

Naruto was beyond speechless. Not only had the girl of his dream, his beloved Sakura-chan, told him that she felt safe and liked being embraced by him but she had also asked him if he wanted her as his girlfriend. "YES! I would love that Sakura-chan!" he said barely containing his happiness but he went over to where she was and hugged her making Sakura smile as she returned the embrace.

"Hn. So you two are together or something?" said a voice making them blush and separate from each other's warmth.

"Yes Sasuke, we are. I hope that's not a problem?" said Sakura recovering from her previous embarrassment

"As long as it doesn't interfere with anything, I don't care" he replied in his typical cold voice "Why is there a bento here? Kakashi told us not to eat anything"

"I had a talk with hokage ojii-san yesterday and he told me not to listen to sensei about the eating thing. He also suggested I bring something for you, so here." Naruto said giving Sasuke his bento "There's something important I need to tell you both about this test"

"What is it Naruto-kun?" Sakura asked her new boyfriend

Naruto proceeded to tell them about how Kakashi would try to drive them apart to test their teamwork and during the remaining two hours, they planned different scenarios to beat their sensei.

"So everyone knows what to do?" asked Naruto

"I don't" said a voice behind them making every member of Team 7 jump in surprise

"Kakashi-sensei! Don't sneak on us like that!" exclaimed Sakura while trying to calm down

"A shinobi must be ready for anything. But that's for another day." Kakashi said shrugging "Today you are here for your real test. I will be the one to deem you worthy of being ninja of Konohagakure. If you fail, then all of you will go back to the academy"

"Say what!" Naruto shouted acting as if he didn't know about it

"If you fail my test, you will have to either quit and live as a civilian or try your luck next year. But that's beside the point. Ok so about the test. You have to get these bells from me. The one who doesn't get one fails. You have until noon. Come with the intent to kill." He said with a serious expression "Begin!" and with that he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

* * *

**A/N: Next chapter will take me some time to write as i want to make Kakashi's test as accurate as possible. I will also try to update once or twice a week.**

**R&R**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's chapter 3! There's a big surprise in this chapter that I'm sure none of you saw coming.**

"Normal speech"

_"Thoughts"_

_**"**__Inner Sakura"_

**"Kyuubi"**_****__  
_

* * *

The tree genin put one of their plans into motion. Sasuke and Sakura went to hide behind some bushes while Naruto went to the middle of the clearing.

"Kakashi-sensei! Come here and fight me! One on one!" shouted Naruto

"_Is this kid stupid or what? Does he seriously believe he can fight me alone?"_ thought Kakashi "You called? You sure you want to do this alone?" he asked while taking his Icha Icha book from his pouch.

"_Heh fell right into our plan!" "_Shut up and fight!" Naruto said charging right into Kakashi only for him to turn into a log and appear right behind Naruto with his hands on the tiger seal.

"Never charge at your opponent without a plan"

"NARUTO-KUN! RUN" yelled Sakura from her hiding spot worried for her boyfriend

No one expected what happened next. Kakashi thrust his hand into Naruto's ass only for him to disappear in a puff of smoke "_Kage bunshin! This kid is good…" _thought Kakashi

Kakashi had to react quickly taking out a kunai as suddenly a huge volley of kunai and shuriken came flying towards him. What he couldn't dodge, he blocked but it still required some effort. The surprise attack managed to move him near the river that flowed through the grounds and Sasuke came out making fast hand seals.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" yelled Sasuke

Kakashi tried to move out of the way of the jutsu but it was too late when he realized that he was being held by Naruto's clones. When the blast cleared, Kakashi was nowhere in sight.

"He got away" stated Sakura a little disappointed that the first of their plans failed

"We'll get him with this one for sure!" said Naruto while Sasuke only smirked a little. He was starting to warm up to them but he didn't notice.

"_Looks like they figured this out, but let's see if they really have" _thought Kakashi while thinking what to do for a surprise attack on them

"Hey sensei, no more playing around! We already figured this out!" shouted Sakura

"_So much for a surprise attack" _thought Kakashi with a sweat drop "If you figured this out, then tell me to see if you are right" he said putting his hands in his pockets

"You want to test our teamwork" said Sasuke

"Hmmm.. yes that is what I want. So far, Naruto and Sasuke pass but since Sakura hasn't done anything yet, I don't know about her. You still have some time. Since you already know what to do, let's just fight." Said Kakashi getting in stance

The three genin smirked. Everything was going as planned. Suddenly, Naruto and Sasuke rushed to him with the intention of distracting him while Sakura started doing some hand seals for a genjutsu she learned recently.

Kakashi knew what they wanted to do but held back just to test their strength. The genjutsu he found himself in was at least chunin level, so that impressed him "_I'll have to help her with increasing her chakra reserves. Being able to do this kind of stuff so early is quite impressive"_

He waited for some seconds before releasing the jutsu only to see two fists smash into his face.

"Gotcha sensei!" said Naruto grinning while showing him two bells

"Check again" said Kakashi with an eye smile

"Huh?" when he did as told, he saw he was holding two worms. After releasing them, he looked up to see their sensei gone.

"Looking for someone?" said a voice behind them

They quickly turned around and starting throwing punches and kicks to the silver haired jounin. He didn't get hit once and this greatly annoyed the teens. Kakashi could see the determination in their eyes and he suddenly stopped.

"Ok guys, that's enough." Said Kakashi

"What do you mean that's enough!" shouted Naruto annoyed

"I mean that you…. You pass" he said with his typical eye smile "You're the first team to se underneath the underneath and to work together instead of fighting against each other"

They were practically jumping out of joy shouting yes and those kind of things.

"We're officially a team now! Dattebayo!" said Naruto

"Yes!" said Sakura hugging her boyfriend.

Suddenly Naruto started to scream in pain. "AHHH! My head! It hurts!"

"Naruto-kun!" said Sakura helping him stand up. Red chakra spiked from random areas of Naruto's body and as fast as it appeared, it went away and Naruto passed out.

"Sakura, Sasuke get over here now. I'll solve this" said Kakashi with a serious voice

"Was… Was that… the Kyuubi's chakra?" asked Sasuke afraid, not for himself, but surprisingly for Naruto's well-being

"Yes, Sasuke. It was." Said Kakashi worried for his student

By this point, Sakura had tears falling freely from her eyes "Is he going to be ok sensei?" she asked barely above a whisper

"I'm not sure. The seal is perfectly fine, so I don't know what triggered the chakra. I'm taking him to the hospital just in case. Both of you go home" stated Kakashi worried for the son of his sensei

"I'm going with you. There's no way I'm leaving my Naruto-kun when he needs me the most" said Sakura

Kakashi only sighed "Ok then. Sasuke, wanna come too?"

"Shouldn't Hokage-sama be informed?"

"Shoot. I forgot about that. Ok Sasuke, since you brought that up, go to his office and tell him to go to the hospital. Say it's of the utmost importance." Said Kakashi with a stern voice

"Hai, sensei" and with that he took off

"Sakura, try to keep up" said Kakashi rushing towards the hospital

"_Hang in there Naruto-kun"_

**Naruto's Mind**

Naruto felt like he was falling into an abyss because of the long time he was suspended in a pitch black place. Out of nowhere, the scenery changed to a sewer with water that reached a little above his ankles.

"Where am I?" he asked to no one while walking around

"**You are in your mind, kit" **said a deep voice coming from his left

"Who are you!" asked Naruto alarmed while going to the place where the voice came from.

"**Keep going and you will find out"**

When Naruto reached a dead end, he saw a gigantic cave with what seemed to be a cage. There was pure darkness in the cage and that creeped him out a bit. Suddenly, two big, blood red eyes appeared along with gigantic sharp fangs.

"**Welcome, kit. I am the Kyuubi no kitsune. Calm down for I do not wish to hurt you. I want to make you a mere offer."**

"Why should I believe you? You almost destroyed my home and cursed my life!" shouted Naruto

"**I owe you an explanation, don't I?" **said Kyuubi with a sigh** "First let me change into my human form so that you can be a little more comfortable while talking to me" **The enormous beast started shrinking into what seemed like an adult woman. She had blood red hair with red eyes adorning her beautiful thin pale face. She had curves that most of the women would kill for. She was dressed in a white kimono with a red sash. When she walked towards Naruto, he could clearly see the nine tails flowing freely.

"**Is this better?" **she tenderly asked

"A lot" said Naruto letting out a breath he didn't know he had

"**Now, going back to the offer I told you about, it's more like repaying you for all the trouble I have caused you. Before I tell you about that, let me explain why I attacked that night twelve years ago" **said Kyuubi taking a deep breath **"I'm sure you know who Uchiha Madara is?" **when she saw Naruto nod, she continued **"That night, I was resting peacefully until he appeared out of nowhere and started attacking me. I would not let a mere human attack me without consequences, but the second I looked at his eyes, I became mesmerized. **

"**That was when he took control of me. I tried to fight it, but I lost and when I realized what was happening, it was too late. I was already within Hi no Kuni and on my way to your village. I could not stop and then your Hokage fought me. You know what happened from that point" **finished Kyuubi actually looking sorry and ashamed of her actions

"Wow… " was all Naruto could say "I was always told in the academy that you just came out of nowhere and started attacking. So, what was what you wanted to tell me?"

"**First, I am going to tell you about your parents"**

"Really! You know about them?" asked Naruto excited about the thought of knowing about his parents

"**Yes I do and I will tell you as long as you stay quiet until I'm finished" **she paused and Naruto nodded vigorously and she let out a chuckle **"First, your mother. Her name was Uzumaki Kushina from the Whirlpool village. She came to Konoha because she was the sole survivor of her home when Iwa destroyed it. She was said to be one of the strongest kunoichi to ever come from Konoha." **She took a breath before continuing **"Now, your father. His name was Namikaze Minato, also known as the Yondaime Hokage or Konoha no Kiiroi Senko. I'm sure you know who he is as I've seen through your eyes to know he was your hero"**

This was a lot to take in for Naruto. First, he found out who his parents were. And now, he was being told that his father was the one he looked up to. He was beyond speechless. "Thank you so much Kyuubi!" he said tearing up a little bit and smiling.

Kyuubi put on a mischievous grin **"Would you like to meet them?"**

Naruto's eyes grew wider than dinner plates "How in the world is that possible? Aren't they dead?"

"**Why yes, they are. But there was a miscalculation in the seal they used and there's something you don't know. Your mother didn't die in childbirth. She passed away helping your father sealing me. The little problem in the process was that while they sealed me, they also sealed their souls within you. Kushina! Minato! I know you're here. Come here with your son." **Said Kyuubi

Naruto couldn't believe his eyes. His own parents were right in front of him. He didn't know what to do as he was so nervous he started sweating. "Mom? Dad?" he asked tearing up.

"Hello my boy" said Kushina in a loving voice

"Sup little guy!" said Minato with a grin identical to Naruto's

Naruto couldn't take it anymore and ran to hug his parents for the first time in his life. He didn't want this moment to end for nothing.

"So how's life treating my son?" asked Minato shortly after they let go of each other

Naruto sighed before telling them about his childhood. He didn't want to, but they were his parents and had the right to know.

Kushina started crying and hugged her son "God, we thought they would treat you well but I guess we were wrong."

Naruto suddenly smiled and told them about the last two days. He told them about Sakura and how they got together and about his team.

"So you got little Kakashi as your sensei? Hahaha nice to see he's still alive" said Minato "Also, I'm surprised that the Uchihas let your teammate be on the same team as you knowing you're Kyuubi's host"

Naruto told them about the massacre and that Sasuke was the sole survivor and that Itachi was the one who killed everyone.

"Oh my God! Don't tell me Mikoto was also killed!" said Kushina worried about her best friend and suddenly remembering about her friend's son and quickly put two and two together "Wait, you said your teammate's name was Sasuke right?" he nodded "He's Mikoto's child, so that must mean she died too." She said sadly

"You mean that you and Sasuke's mom were friends?" asked Naruto surprised

"Like sisters" added Minato

"Anyway, let's talk about something else." Said Kushina while trying to get over the fact that her best friend had died as well.

"You said you have a girlfriend?" asked Minato with a grin and winking

Naruto blushed "Yeah, her name is Haruno Sakura. We only got together today. We went on a date yesterday."

"My little boy is growing up" said Minato wiping an imaginary tear

Naruto and Kushina laughed and soon Minato joined in. "I would have loved to meet my daughter-in-law" said Kushina sadly

"Mom! We've only been together for less than a day! It's too soon to think about that" said Naruto embarrassed

"**I'm sorry to interrupt, but there's something I need to ask you, Minato and Kushina" **said Kyuubi for the first time in a while

"What is it?" said Minato a little confused

Kyuubi's face suddenly turned into a grin that threatened to split her face and innocently asked **"What would you say if I told you that I know a way to bring both of you back to life?"**

**

* * *

**

**Cliffhanger! **

**A/N: This is the first of many surprises I plan to throw in this story. This will follow the canon timeline but i will make some changes to it. I have it already planned up till the second phase of the chunin exams.  
**

**R&R**


	4. Chapter 4

**Here's chapter 4. Sorry for the late update but I've been busy for the last days. This is also the longest chapter yet.  
**

"Normal speech"

_"Thoughts"_

_**"**__Inner Sakura"_

**"Kyuubi"**__

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**_****__  
_

* * *

The three of them were speechless. Here was the Kyuubi offering a way to bring Naruto's parents back to the world of the living.

"Y-You can really do that?" asked Naruto, excitement clear in his face

"**Yes, I can but I will need your help" **said Kyuubi smiling **"You will be a very important part of the process. In fact, without you it is impossible"**

"You're not going to harm him are you?" asked Minato worried

"**Calm down. I don't plan to hurt him"** said Kyuubi **"I will explain the process and why Naruto is essential for this to work. Naruto will have to create two Kage bunshin and have them both transform into both of you to give your future bodies your appearance as the original ones are buried and rotten. Once the clones are transformed, you and the clones will have to meditate. From there on, you have to stay in that position until the process is finished.**

"**Since you are linked with your clones, Minato and Kushina will have to move each into the mind of one of the host bodies. I will then send my chakra to seal the souls and give you both full control of the body as well as making them permanent full working human bodies."** Kyuubi took a breath** "When I'm done, the clones will no longer be clones so they won't dispel when hit. You will be as you were before you died. You will be able to fight and be normal people. You can continue your lives from where you left off. You will have the chance to be real parents."**

They had tears in their eyes when told they could be parents and normal people. They had wanted to be with Naruto so much and now that they had met him, they wanted to be with him forever.

"So, if our bodies are made of Kage bunshin and chakra, will we age or anything?" asked Kushina

"**Yes, you will age and your bodies will function as a normal body. With my chakra, I will create organs and blood. You will be able to get killed or to die of old age." **Answered Kyuubi

"Let's do this then!" said Naruto wanting to be with his parents in real life and also wanting to introduce them to a certain pink haired kunoichi.

"**I believe you have to tell your Hokage about this first, though. I'm sure he will want to know as well as your team"** said Kyuubi. **"Oh, by the way you passed out, your girlfriend got worried, your sensei took you to the hospital and you are in bed in a room with your team and the Hokage there surrounding you" **said Kyuubi smirking

"WHAT! Why didn't you tell me that sooner! Damn, Sakura-chan must be worried" said Naruto pacing around "How do I wake up then?"

"**Wait. I will send you back" **said Kyuubi

Chakra came out of Kyuubi and onto Naruto and with a flash, he disappeared from his mind.

* * *

Sakura was holding Naruto's hand worried about him. It had already been 4 hours since he passed out and she had been next to him the entire time not even leaving for the bathroom or for lunch.

"I sure hope Naruto is okay" said Sarutobi

"He is strong. He will wake up soon" said Kakashi feeling confident about his student

He started to stir and slowly opened his eyes blinking a little. He looked around the room and said "Hey guys I'm awake now"

"Naruto-kun!" said Sakura as she lunged into his arms to hug him with all her might "What happened! You made me really worry!" she was crying by this point

"Shh, it's ok Sakura-chan. I'm fine" everyone smiled at the way he comforted her, even Sasuke.

"Don't do that again, baka" she said wiping her tears and going back to her seat

"How long was I out?" asked Naruto

"About four hours. You had all of us worried. Mind telling us what happened?" asked Kakashi

"Kyuubi wanted to talk to me" answered Naruto feeling more comfortable talking about it with the people in the room, as apart from them, only Iruka and the Ichiraku family accepted him

As soon as he said that, everyone turned serious "What did that monster tell you?" asked Sarutobi frowning

"Just to let you know, Kyuubi is no monster. She is really nice" said Naruto shocking everyone "She told me about the real reason she attacked"

"This is hard to believe" said Kakashi

"Well, it is true" he said "Ojii-san, can you put a souns barrier? I don't want anyone overhearing us" and with that, Kakashi made a few hand seals.

"Done" said Kakashi and then Naruto proceeded to tell them everything Kyuubi told him. When he was done, everyone was shocked

"This is a lot to take in. I will believe what you told us only because you wouldn't lie about this kind of stuff" said Sarutobi while sitting down

"That's not everything. She also told me about my parents. Ojii-san, why didn't you tell me about it sooner?" said Naruto with a saddened face

"Your father requested that because of his enemies in Iwa, you wouldn't be told about them until you were fully capable of handling yourself against a ninja of at least jounin rank" he answered

"Wait, who were your parents Naruto-kun?" asked Sakura wanting to know about the blonde's family

"My mom was Uzumaki Kushina. She came here from Whirlpool village. My dad was Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage" he said shocking his teammates

"Wow, Naruto-kun, now that you mention that, you actually look a lot like the Yondaime from those books at the academy" said Sakura

"Yeah, I don't know how we missed that" said Sasuke

"Anyway, Kyuubi said there is a way to bring them back to life as there was a mistake during the sealing and both of their souls were sealed in my along with Kyuubi" he said further shocking everyone "Oh, and by the way, I also talked to them."

"A way to bring them back? Are you sure it's not an attempt to escape?" said Kakashi getting a little nervous

"Don't worry, Kakashi. If Kyuubi tries to get out, both will die. And if Minato is indeed sealed in there, I'm sure he would have told her" said Hiruzen "So, Naruto, care to tell us how Kyuubi plans to revive Minato and Kushina?"

"Sure" said Naruto and explained everything being careful not to let anything out. The elder sat in a thinking position contemplating about the information that was just revealed to them.

"Okay, Naruto. When do you want to do this?" he said seriously

"Let's do it now!" said Naruto excitedly

"Are you sure? I mean you just woke up after 4 hours" said Kakashi

"I'm fine. I already miss my parents" said Naruto grinning

"Well then, I will call two of my most trusted ANBU to prepare a room here as soon as possible" said Hiruzen. He snapped his fingers and two ANBU appeared in the room

"Yes, Hokage-sama?" said one of them

"Prepare one of the emergency rooms now. Do not tell anyone anything. Say that I requested it." He said sternly

"Hai, Hokage-sama" and with that they disappeared

"Sasuke, Sakura, do you want to stay?" asked the elder

"I'm staying with Naruto-kun" said Sakura holding her boyfriend's hand

"I'm staying too. The moment Naruto told us about this we became a part of the secret. Besides, it's not as if you get to see something like this everyday" said Sasuke smirking

"Very well." He said "Kakashi, keep an eye on them during the process"

"Hai" said the silver haired jounin as the ANBU came back

"The room is ready, Hokage-sama"

"Let's go" he said and all of them left the room. Some of the nurses looked surprised to see their Hokage walking with a serious face with two ANBUS, Kakashi and his genin team and some of them even thought that they were finally going to get rid of the so called demon as he was deep in thought.

* * *

The room was really big and the walls were painted in a dark green color and it had no furniture. The floor had some complicated seals commonly used to treat patients in a critical state.

"Rat, Bear, you cannot tell anyone about what is going to happen. It is classified as a double S-class secret. This goes to you to, kids. Understood?" asked Sarutobi seriously

"Hai, Hokage-sama" said everyone in the room

"Ok then, let's give Naruto space. ANBU, place a seal in the door so that no one can come in" he said and as soon as he requested it, it was done "Begin whenever you want, Naruto"

"Kage bunshin no jutsu!" said Naruto and two clones appeared "You know what to do" and he sat in a meditation position with his legs crossed, his hands in the tiger seal and eyes closed.

"Henge no jutsu" said both of his clones, each transforming into one of Naruto's parents and then getting into the same position as the real Naruto

"_She's beautiful" _thought Sakura when she looked at Kushina "_And the Yondaime does look like him"_

"_Ok Kyuubi, my part is done" Naruto mentally told his tenant_

"**Keep concentrating. This might hurt a little but it will be over really fast"** said Kyuubi

Reddish-orange chakra came out of Naruto going to the two clones before going down on them. The bodies became surrounded with the chakra while Kyuubi started creating the internal organs and activating them. When that was done, she then began to merge the souls with the bodies, giving them full control. Once it was done, the chakra returned to Naruto and he opened his eyes and took a look at his parents.

"Mom? Dad? Are you really alive?" asked Naruto worried that the process failed

"Yes, dear we are finally here" said Kushina standing up to hug her son

"Little Kakashi, is that you?" asked Minato looking at Kakashi noticing how he had grown up

"Sensei?" asked Kakashi speechless

The ANBU, who had not been there when they were discussing the event that just happened, were shocked to see that the Yondaime and his wife had really revived.

"Ojii-san, thank you for taking care of our little boy" said Kushina smiling

"Wait, you call him Ojii-san too?" asked Naruto

"Yeah, she does. She always had a problem when it came to respecting other people" said Minato chuckling before Kushina smacked him in the head

"BAKA" she said turning around

Sarutobi chuckled "I believe that's something both mother and son have in common. But now that you are here, I believe there is something we didn't plan" he said turning serious again

"Let me guess, were will we stay?" said Minato smirking

"Right" said Kakashi

"Why don't they stay with Naruto-kun?" asked Sakura

"_She must be Sakura. She looks just like my old friend Sayaki. Wait, maybe they're related but now's not the time to ask" _thought Kushina

"Because, as much as we would love that, people would be shocked to see me there" said Minato "But to answer the old man's question, you forgot the bunkers for the civilians in the Hokage Monument. No one uses them and they have beds we could use. And Naruto could come visit any day and bring us food"

"And he could bring his girlfriend over" added Kushina making Sakura blush a deep red

"Mom! You haven't even been introduced and you're already teasing her" said Naruto

"So why don't both of you come over tonight for dinner?" asked Minato

"I would like to sir" said Sakura nervously

"No need to be that formal with us. Just call us by our names" said Minato with a smile that resembled Naruto's

"Are you Sasuke?" asked Kushina

"Yes, I am" he replied

"Is your mom's name Mikoto by any chance?" she asked hopefully

"Yeah, did you knew her?" asked Sasuke surprised that both his mom and Naruto's knew each other

"Knew her? We were like sisters!" said Kushina grinning "Actually, she made me your godmother and Minato over there your godfather"

Sasuke was beyond shocked. First, he learns that his mother and the mother of his teammate were best friends and now, he is told that he is in the same room as his godparents.

"I heard what happened to your clan. I'm sorry about it" said Kushina wiping a lone tear that fell

"It's ok. I learned to live with it. Besides, Naruto here managed to convince me to leave my hatred for my brother" he said

"Sorry to interrupt, but I think we should get going. Minato, can you use your Hiraishin to leave?" asked Sarutobi

"Sure, but we need to have a meeting to discuss some important matters regarding us" Minato said

"Yeah we do. How about tomorrow? As you already have plans for tonight" he said

"Sure. Tomorrow at the Monument at 9am?" asked Minato

"Ok, see you there. You guys should be there too" said the aging Hokage to Team 7 including Kakashi

"Hai" said the four of them

"Rat, Bear. I am assigning a mission for you two. Make sure no one gets near the bunkers no exceptions"

"Hai" they said and disappeared in a swirl of leaves

"We will get going now" said Minato "Sasuke, you come over tonight too. See you later" with that, Kushina embraced him and both disappeared in a yellow flash

"Kakashi, you should probably go home now" said the Sandaime

"Yeah, I was about to leave" said Kakashi leaving along with the Hokage

"Hn. Naruto, I guess this means that we are something like brothers?" asked Sasuke smirking

"You bet!" said Naruto

"So tonight we are going to have dinner with them right?" asked Sakura

"Yeah. Sasuke, you better be there too or I will kick your ass!"

"Like you could" said Sasuke turning around to leave "Anyway see you tonight"

"So, Sakura-chan, want to spend some time before we go to the Monument?" asked a hopeful Naruto

"I would love to, Naruto-kun but I want to get ready. I want to have a good impression on your parents" said Sakura blushing a little

Naruto sighed "Can I at least walk you home?"

"Sure, let's go" she said smiling

Naruto held her hand and they left the hospital towards Sakura's house. On the way, they spotted Team 8 near the steakhouse and Sakura was hoping that they didn't notice them, but luck was not on her side.

"Hey forehead what are you doing holding the dobe's hand!" shouted Ino

"God, Ino why do you have to be so loud" said Shikamaru

"Naruto-kun's not a dobe, Ino" said Sakura

"Did you just call him Naruto-kun? Heh I thought you liked Sasuke-kun" mocked Ino

"Yes I did call him Naruto-kun and no, I don't like Sasuke" said Sakura to a now shocked Ino "Actually, Naruto-kun is my boyfriend and I'm happier with him than I would ever be with Sasuke"

"You mean Sasuke-kun is mine now?" asked Ino. Sakura only nodded smiling

"Yes, you can have him" answered Sakura "And now that we are no longer rivals, I would like us to be friends again"

"Took the words right out of my mouth" said Ino grinning "See you later forehead!"

"Bye pig" said Sakura smirking

"Chouji, Shika" said Naruto seriously

"Why so serious Naruto?" asked Chouji to his friend

"There is something really important I need to tell you both along with Kiba"

"We'll find him and tell him you want to meet with us as I can see you're busy" said Shikamaru smirking

"Heh thank you guys so I'll see you the day after tomorrow in the park" said Naruto

"Troublesome. Fine. See you guys" said Shikamaru with a lazy wave

"Bye Naruto, Sakura" said Chouji and they left to find Ino

"We should get going too" said Naruto

"Yeah" said the pinkette

They walked the rest of the way to Sakura's house in a comfortable silence. Soon, they were already at her doorstep

"Is it ok if I pick you up at 7?" asked Naruto

"Yeah, it's fine" said Sakura smiling

"See you then" said Naruto turning around to leave

"Wait" said Sakura kissing him on the cheek "Now you can go"

"Uh ok" said Naruto dumbly. Both were blushing when the blonde left

"Mom, I'm home!" yelled Sakura while taking off her sandals

"I'm in the kitchen, dear!" yelled back her mom

Sakura went straight to the kitchen and sat on one of the chairs "Mom, guess what!"

"Hmm, you got together with Naruto" teased her mom.

"Wha- How did you know?" asked Sakura dumbfounded

"I didn't. I just guessed. Soooo, how about you ask him to come over for dinner tomorrow? I want to get to know your boyfriend to see if I approve of him" said the older woman

"Uhh, I'll ask him. I'm going out with him later. He'll be here by 7, so I have to go up to get ready" said Sakura

* * *

Naruto was walking towards his apartment thinking about what he should get for dinner as no store would let him in "_I should settle for some ramen and hope I inherited my love for it from my parents"_

When he got to his apartment, he took a quick shower and got dressed on a black t-shirt with an orange leaf in the middle and dark blue jeans. He decided not to wear his hitai-ate as it didn't look good with the outfit he was wearing. Naruto decided he looked well enough and went towards the ramen stand to pick up dinner before going to Sakura's.

Sayaki was reading a book in the living room when she heard a knock on the door.

"I'm coming" she said turning the door knob

"Um hello Mrs. Haruno, is Sakura-chan ready?" asked Naruto a little nervous as he had never talked to his girlfriend's mother and he didn't know what she thought of him

"Oh, you must be Naruto" she said smiling "She will be done any second now. Want to come in while you wait?"

"Uh, sure" he said walking inside the house. The pink haired woman led him to the couch in the living room.

"I will go tell Sakura that you arrived" she said nicely

"Thank you" said Naruto a gaining some more confidence

"Sakura, dear, your boyfriend is here" said Sayaki through the door to her daughter's room

"I'm almost done" said the teenage girl "Ok, I'm ready!"

When Naruto heard the footsteps coming towards the living room, he got a little nervous. When he saw Sakura, his jaw dropped. She had her hair in a ponytail with two bangs at each side of her face. She was wearing a pink tank top and a black skirt that reached a little above her knees. She was also stunned by how Naruto looked and was surprised to see him without his hitai-ate.

"Wow, you look beautiful" was all Naruto could say making Sakura blush and look down

"You look handsome yourself" she said "Ready to go?"

"Y-yeah, let's go" answered Naruto getting up from the couch

* * *

On the Hokage Monument, Minato and Kushina had finished cleaning up their temporary house and were setting the table at the same time Naruto and Sakura left the Haruno's house.

"Honey, hurry up with that. They will get here anytime now" said the red-haired woman to her husband

"I'm already done" he said sitting in one of the chairs

"Good, because they already arrived. They're with the ANBU" said Kushina going towards the door to welcome their guests

"Kushina-san, here they are." Said the ANBU signaling to the three genin. They had come across Sasuke on their way there and he tagged along.

"Hey, mom" said Naruto grinning

"Hello, kids. Come in" said Kushina smiling

The place where they were staying was quite big as it was designed to hold the civilians during an attack to the village and because of that, it looked a little empty. In the makeshift dining room, Minato was waiting for them.

"Hey, kids" he said grinning like Naruto does

"Hey, dad" said Naruto

"So, what did you bring for dinner son?" asked Minato

"Uhh, is ramen ok? I mean Ichiraku's is the only restaurant that will let me in" asked Naruto

"Ramen!" shouted both of his parents with drool coming out of their mouths

"We love it! Oh man, Ichiraku's is still open? How is the old man doing?" asked Minato excitedly

"_Thank you god!" _"Teuchi-oji-san is doing fine" said Naruto happy that his parents loved the same food as him

"Have a seat guys" said Kushina sitting down herself

"Thank you, Kushina-san" said Sakura politely

"No need to be so formal, dear" said Minato chuckling making the rosette blush

"Sakura, is your mother's name Sayaki by any chance?" asked Kushina

"Yeah, that's her name. How did you know?" asked a surprised Sakura

"Oh my god! I knew it! You look so much like her" said Kushina "Both of your moms and I were the best of friends when we were young"

The three members of Team 7 were shocked to know that their moms had been so close when younger and they were also shocked by the coincidence.

"So, is Sayaki still a kunoichi or did she already quit?" asked Kushina

"She said she quit when she heard she was pregnant" replied Sakura getting a little more comfortable

"Sorry to interrupt the conversation, but now that both of you are alive again; you do know that it is almost impossible to stay hidden like this without anyone noticing, right?" asked Sasuke talking for the first time

"Good question" said Minato "Well, we will have a meeting with Hiruzen tomorrow where we will discuss that. What I do know that has to be done, is informing the council of this. If they find out by any other source, things will get complicated"

"Well, let's eat while we talk. We don't want the ramen to get cold now, do we?" asked Kushina excited about her favorite food

Naruto took out a scroll and wiped some blood through it making a big number of ramen bowls appear in a puff of smoke.

It was a little after midnight when they decided it was time to go home. Everyone had a good time, even Sasuke. Both Sakura and Sasuke learned a lot of things about their mothers through Kushina and Naruto was really happy that both of his parents approved of Sakura. Even though he wouldn't admit it, Sasuke already thought of them as a family. He saw a father in Minato, a mother in Kushina and siblings in Naruto and Sakura. Life was getting better for Team 7.

**

* * *

R&R**


	5. Chapter 5

**Here's chapter 5. Please read the A/N at the end**

"Normal speech"

_"Thoughts"_

_**"**__Inner Sakura"_

**"Kyuubi"**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**_****__  
_

* * *

The next day, everyone who knew about the revival of the two Namikazes was sitting in the Hokage's office. The ANBU were guarding the door and Minato had used a seal on the windows that made it impossible to see what was inside even for the Byakugan.

"So now that everyone's here, we have some important things to discuss" said the Sandaime

"Like when we are going to show ourselves to the village, right?" asked Kushina

"Yeah" answered Sarutobi "I think it would be best to announce that you're back either after or during the chunin exams that will take place in one month from now here"

"What? Chunin exams? I want to be there!" exclaimed Naruto

"Whoa, wait there young man" said Sarutobi "You guys haven't even been on a single mission and the requirements are to have a decent amount of D-rank missions and at least a C-rank one"

"Awww c'mon ojii-san!"

"You just graduated from the academy 3 days ago, Naruto" said Kakashi chuckling

"Anyway" said Minato chuckling "I think it would be better to announce it as soon as possible. I already miss being a shinobi"

"Yeah, and I miss the compound" said Kushina smiling

"What do you mean by compound?" asked a stunned Naruto

"Well, the Namikaze clan was one of the founding members of the village, but it technically ended with me, so when we announce that we are back, we will also announce you as our son and the heir to the clan and your last name will also be changed to Namikaze" answered Minato

"Minato, Kushina it's time for the meeting. I will send one of the ANBU for you when I tell them the news" said Sarutobi and with that he left his office "_I wonder how Danzo will take the news"_

* * *

In the council meeting room, the members of the council and the village elders Koharu, Homura and Danzo were wondering why they were summoned that day. They were only told that it was of utmost importance, but were not given any more details.

There were seats for the heads of the council level clans, these being the Yamanaka, Akimichi, Nara, Aburame, Hyuuga, Inuzuka, Uchiha and Namikaze, but the last two were empty because there was no longer a head in any of those two clans, or so they thought. There were also seats for the elders to the sides of the Hokage's seat.

The doors opened, and Sarutobi came in with an ANBU guard behind him. He walked to his seat and sat down.

"I'm sure most, if not all of you are wondering why you were summoned here" he said seriously "The purpose of this meeting, is to inform you of the return of two of the best shinobi to ever come from this village"

"So, Tsunade-hime and Jiraiya are back, huh?" asked Homura

"Actually, it's none of them. It's two people who haven't been here in twelve years" said Sarutobi "Anyone want to try another guess, or do you want me to tell you instead?"

"We are very busy people, so just tell us who they are" said Danzo not surprisingly

"Very well. The two shinobi I told you about are no other than our dear Yondaime Hokage and his wife" he said smirking on the inside

"How is that even possible? Minato died sealing the Kyuubi and Kushina disappeared the day of the attack" said Nara Shikaku being the smartest one there

"Actually, Kushina died giving birth to their son, who I'm sure all of you know by now" said the aging Hokage "Uzumaki Naruto is actually Namikaze Naruto, son of Namikaze Minato and Kushina"

"How can that demon brat be related to the Yondaime? And how the hell are those two alive?" exclaimed Danzo

"If you actually compared their looks, it would be really obvious. And for your other question, I will have them tell you personally. Rat, tell them to come" said Sarutobi

"Hai, Hokage-sama" said the masked man disappearing from the room and just after he left, a yellow flash was seen in the room which was replaced by two people they hadn't seen in a little over a decade.

"H-how is that even possible!" said a shocked Koharu

"Well, it was thanks to the Kyuubi and my son" said Minato grinning along with his wife

"So it is true that the monster is your son" said Danzo snarling and in a flash, Minato was behind him with a kunai against his throat

"I will NOT tolerate anyone calling my son a monster in front of me" said Minato

"What if I do, huh Namikaze?" challenged Danzo

"I will not hesitate to kill you, you old bastard" responded the blonde man "You know, I never liked you and I know I'm not the only one here so if I killed you I would help a lot of people. Your method for training people disgusts me"

"Even if you killed me, your son will still be called a monster because that is just what he-" he never got to finish that sentence because a kunai pierced through his head. They were shocked to see that it wasn't Minato's kunai but Kushina's.

"That pest is finally gone. Good riddance" said Kushina with the most serious look everyone including Minato had seen on her face

"Do you know what you just did?" exclaimed Koharu outraged

"Yes, I perfectly do. I took care of a tyrant and war hawk that would eventually bring trouble to this village" said Kushina "He also insulted my son and I will not tolerate that"

"Rat, please clean this mess" said Sarutobi signaling to Danzo's corpse while sighing

"Hai" said the ANBU while taking the dead body and leaving with it

"I knew that something like that would happen sooner or later" stated Sarutobi "Anyway, Minato, would you like to explain how you both are here?"

"Yeah, sure" said Minato and proceeded to explain what happened

"So, you're telling us that Kyuubi is not really evil and that she was the one that made it possible for you to be here?" asked Inoichi

"Yeah" said Kushina simply

"So, now that you are here, when are you going to show yourselves to the village?" asked Chouza

"We wanted to discuss that with all of you" said Minato

"I suggest you do it tomorrow in the afternoon. We can say that Hokage-sama has an announcement to make and that it is important for the village to know" said Hiashi

"I agree. You should also announce that Naruto is your son to see if that will stop them from mistreating him" said Koharu, who was a little fond of the boy even though she had not met him

"So it is decided. Tomorrow we will announce that. Also, what do we do about ROOT now that Danzo is dead?" said Sarutobi

"We could get them into the regular ANBU or in the Black ops" suggested Tsume

"Well then, tomorrow they will be informed of this too" decided the aging leader before finishing the meeting

* * *

The members of Team 7 were waiting for the three people that went to the meeting as they wanted to hear when their return would be announced.

"Gahh! Why are they taking so long?" shouted Naruto walking around the Hokage's office

"Hn, they are in a meeting dobe. What they have to discuss is important so it may take a while" answered Sasuke getting a little impatient as well but unlike Naruto, he hid it

"Whatever, teme" replied Naruto

"Just sit down, Naruto. You're going to give me a headache" said Kakashi rubbing his temples

Sakura giggled "Naruto-kun, calm down. It's just been an hour. I believe council meetings take longer than that so try to relax" she said smiling to him and that had the effect she desired. He sat down next to her but was fidgeting with his fingers showing that he was still impatient. "_At least I managed to make him sit down… Oh well, can't win them all I guess"_

Just as Sakura finished that thought, a yellow flash appeared in the room and a poof of smoke followed.

"Okay guys, tomorrow at noon, our return will be announced to the village. I want you, Naruto, to be with us so they believe me when I tell them that you are my son. I know how stupid these people can be thanks to a certain old bastard we dealt with some moments ago" said Minato frowning at the last part

"About that, Minato, Kushina, I have to tell you something in private. Team 7, you can go to the Mission Hall to ask Iruka for a mission if you wish" said Sarutobi "Dismissed"

"Hai, Hokage-sama" said Team 7, Naruto just mumbling because he too wanted to hear what the Hokage would tell his parents

Once they were out, Sarutobi turned more serious than before "You remember from your time as Hokage that Danzo loved wars and would do whatever it takes to have the perfect weapon, right?"

"I think I know where you are going with this. Let me guess, he wanted to take advantage of Naruto training him to control Kyuubi so that he could use its power, right?" asked Kushina

"Yeah. He wanted that but luckily for Naruto, neither me, the council nor my advisors gave him permission and it was decided for Naruto to be trained in the academy instead" said Sarutobi

"Thank you for everything you have done for my son, oji-san" said Kushina grinning like Naruto

"God, now I remember who Naruto got his personality from" said Sarutobi face palming

"Heheh" laughed Kushina with a hand behind her head making Minato sweat drop

* * *

The next day, every single person within Konoha had gone to the streets surrounding the Hokage building to hear the important announcement their leader had to make. People where whispering between them about what the urgent matter may be. Some even thought that their leader would be retiring and had already chosen his successor and were wondering which of the shinobi of the village was worthy enough of that title.

Soon, everyone was settled and the Hokage decided it was time. He walked to the front of the rooftop where all the people could see him and everyone grew quiet.

"Civilians and ninjas of Konohagakure, it is my pleasure to inform you that two of the best shinobi to ever come from this village have returned. I know some of you may be thinking that they are two of our Sannin, and if you are, you are wrong. I present you Namikaze Minato and Kushina" said Sarutobi to the extremely large crowd

The people were about to shout their protests saying that they were already dead, but the Yondaime's signature technique stopped them before some could even say the first syllable. Everyone instantly grew quiet and their eyes grew as wide as dinner plates. They could not believe their eyes. Their long deceased leader and his wife were standing right before their eyes. They knew it was not a genjutsu of a henge as the shinobi had already tried dispelling it.

"Hey, everyone. You look like you've seen a ghost" said Minato smirking

"It's a trick! You're dead! You can't be here" shouted a random civilian making both Minato and Kushina laugh

"Well, if you said that two days ago, you would have been right. But thanks to our dear son, we are alive as you can see" answered Kushina

"How come you have a son?" asked another person, this time a shinobi

"Well, we had him before we died and actually all of you know him really well" said Kushina with a sickening smile

"Oh, yeah. But the thing is, you know him not by his name, which is Naruto by the way, but rather you call him… what was it dear?" asked Minato to his wife as realization hit some of the people

"I believe it was demon brat, fox brat, monster, etc. what should we do about that, sweetie?" asked Kushina making everyone's eyes widen

"I don't know. Why don't we ask Naruto? After all, it's him they're disrespecting and as far as I am concerned, I asked for him to be viewed as a hero, not a pariah" said Minato getting serious at the last part

"Dad, you called?" asked Naruto grinning while walking towards him from the inside of the building

"Yeah, son. What do you suggest we do with the people that mistreated you?" asked Minato making everyone pale as a ghost scared of what may happen to them

"Nothing" he simply said

"You sure? I mean these people mistreated you for a long time. If it was up to me, I'd torture anyone who tried to physically hurt you" said Minato cracking his knuckles

"Yeah, I'm sure. I don't hold grudges against anyone of them, but that doesn't mean I have forgiven them. How about you explain how you came back to life so they can rethink their hatred for me?" said Naruto showing his mature side

"Well then, son" said Minato ruffling his son's hair "Kushina, I think it is your turn to explain"

"Fine then" she said pouting "Okay people, listen and listen well because I will not repeat this. First I will tell you the truth about the Kyuubi attack twelve years ago because what everyone thinks is not true. Also, the law that was made to prevent the younger generation to know about this is no longer active as of this moment. Now hear me out. The Kyuubi is not really evil. She was controlled by Uchiha Madara. I'm sure you know who that is" she paused to see everyone was paying attention to her

"Good. He used the power of his sharingan to control her when she was resting. When Kyuubi realized it, she tried to break the control, but eventually gave up. That is until she saw what Madara was going to make her do. He was going to use her for his revenge against this village. That is when she tried to fight for her freedom the most as she didn't want to kill innocent people. From there, you know the drill. Minato sealed her inside our newborn son, Naruto and died doing so and most of you thought I died during labor. Wrong. I was helping out my husband during the sealing and we made a little mistake. We also sealed our soul along with Kyuubi.

"It was only two days ago that Kyuubi managed to contact Naruto here and we also met him. As a way to apologize for everything she caused in Naruto's life, she offered to revive us by a process that neither of us will explain as it has been ranked a double S-class village secret and has the death penalty" finished Kushina with a deep breath. They hoped this had changed the mind of the people of their village and it actually did. To have their leader come back from the grave along with his wife and give them a rude awakening really made them, well some of them, realize how wrong their beliefs on Naruto were. Of course there were some who still thought of him as the Kyuubi itself and they were now the minority. The ones that were most shocked about this were the genin that knew Naruto.

"Also, as of this moment, Naruto's name is officially Namikaze Naruto and will live in the Namikaze compound along with his parents" said Sarutobi

Soon enough, everyone left to their houses and the Namikaze family was left with the Hokage.

"So, now that you are free to go around the village, do you want to become active ninja again?" asked Sarutobi

"Yeah. I miss going on missions" said Minato

"Ok then, after you help Naruto move his stuff to your clan compound, come to my office and we will mark you as active again" said the aging leader smiling

"Thank you Sarutobi" said Minato shaking his hand

And with that, the Namikaze family left towards Naruto's apartment to gather his stuff.

* * *

**A/N: I remember that one of the flashbacks in shipuuden showed Sasuke saving Karin in the forest of death and i was thinking about pairing them up so i made a poll about it. please check it out and vote**

**R&R**


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm really, really sorry that this chapter took me so long to update. I had some exams last week and I was extremely busy studying for them, but for the next two weeks I will be completely free, so expect some more updates. Without further delay, here's chapter 6**

"Normal speech"

_"Thoughts"_

_**"**__Inner Sakura"_

**"Kyuubi"**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**_****__  
_

* * *

When Naruto saw his new home, he was stunned. Two days ago, he would have never imagined that he would end up living in such a place like the Namikaze compound. Just seeing it from the outside was enough to make someone wish they lived there. The gates to the whole compound were made of pure gold and they were at least 3 meters tall. Once you crossed it, there was a garden with a stone path that leads to the main house where they would be living. It was a traditional Japanese style house that had two floors. Surrounding the main house, there were ten smaller houses for the other clan members but they were empty as they were the only Namikazes left.

As soon as they got inside, Naruto wasted no time in exploring the place where he would be living from now on. He was amazed at the size of every room there was. Once he checked the first floor out, which had the kitchen, dining room, living room, a library and three bathrooms, he went up the stairs towards the second floor where the bedrooms were. His parents had gone to check that everything they had was still there, so he was left alone. The second floor had a hallway with doors to both sides that lead to the bedrooms. Naruto counted how many doors were there and was surprised to see there were six. He opened the first door and saw that it was a guest room and it was quite big. It only had a queen sized bed in the middle, drawers to both its sides and a TV in front of the bed. Four of the doors were guest rooms and he got nervous when he got to the last two.

"_I wonder if one of those was going to be my room when I was born" _hethought before taking a deep breath "_Here goes nothing"_

He was surprised to see that it was indeed supposed to be his room, only that it was decorated for a baby. There was a crib in the center and the walls were painted a light blue. There were some stuffed toys in shelves along with baby supplies. He felt a tear roll down his cheek after seeing what could have been his if that bastard Madara had not come. He then felt a hand placed on his shoulder.

"You're wondering how life would have been if Madara hadn't come, right?" asked his mother's tender voice

"How did you know?" he asked surprised while wiping his eye

"Mother's intuition" she answered smiling "Want to see the last room?"

"I'll go there in a while. I want to spend some time here" he said quietly

"Sure, I'll leave you alone" said his mother before turning and walking away

* * *

Meanwhile in the Haruno's house, both of them were currently on the kitchen, Sayaki was cooking and Sakura was sitting on the table.

"Did you know about Naruto's parents?" asked Sayaki taking a glance at her daughter

"Yeah, I knew. But I didn't say anything because Hokage-sama made it a double S-class secret until it was announced to the village" said Sakura "I was actually there when they revived"

"I understand" said her mom "So has she told you anything?"

"She said that both of you along with Sasuke's mom used to be the best of friends, which leads me to the question. Why didn't I meet Sasuke when we were younger?" asked Sakura "Weren't you his mom's best friend too?"

"Yeah, I was but after Kushina passed away, we grew distant and went from being best friends to only saying hi whenever we saw each other in the streets" answered Sayaki "Kushina was the one that held us together"

"Well, but now you can meet her again. She's my boyfriend's mom after all" said Sakura smiling

"Yeah I would like that. So do you have to go on any missions tomorrow?" asked the older Haruno

"Yeah. I have to meet my team at 7 for our usual D-rank missions cough-chores-cough" said Sakura making her mother chuckle

"Well, food's ready so let's eat" said Sayaki

* * *

By the time Naruto got out of the room, it was already midnight. He went to the living room to find his father reading some scroll and his mother sleeping lying on Minato's lap.

"There's some ramen your mom made in the kitchen, you should eat something. By the way you can take any guest room and decorate it as you want" said Minato

"Thank you dad, I'll go eat and then to bed"

"Oh, and before I forget, here take this" said Minato handing him one of his three-pronged kunai "You can use this if you are in trouble and if even Kakashi can't deal with it. To use it, just throw it somewhere and I will teleport there."

"Ok I'll keep it in my pouch. Thanks again dad" said Naruto going to the kitchen

"If I were ramen, where would I be?" asked Naruto to himself while opening and closing cabinets

-"Duh, the fridge" said Naruto face palming while heating up the ramen. Once it was done, he wasted no time in downing it. "_God, mom's ramen is as good as Ichiraku's!"_

When he was done, he headed towards one of the guest rooms and settled in the one that was just two doors away from his parent's room. "Well, I guess I will have to bring my stuff here but I will do it tomorrow after those damn chores" he said sighing before lying down in his new bed trying to get some sleep, but fate wasn't on his side that night

"**Hey kit" **said Kyuubi contacting her host after some days **"I want to talk with you regarding something that might interest you"**

"_Can't it wait until tomorrow? I really need some sleep" _said Naruto while covering his face with a pillow and groaning

"**Well, if you wish. But then you will have to wait to hear about the powers I can give you. Suit yourself"** replied Kyuubi inwardly smirking fully knowing that got his attention

"_In that case, sleeping can wait. What were you saying about those powers?" _asked Naruto excitedly forgetting completely that it was a little over midnight and that he had to wake up early to meet with his team

"**You will gain fox-like senses. That means better hearing, sight and nose. You will also have more brute strength along with speed" **said Kyuubi

"_How long will it take?" _asked Naruto hoping it would be done soon so he could test his new powers

"**I will start once you are asleep. It may take up to five hours, so if you want them soon, then you better go to sleep now"** answered Kyuubi to her host

"_Yeah! I can't wait! Goodnight, Kyuubi" _said Naruto quickly falling asleep

* * *

Next morning, Naruto was just waking up when he smelled something really good from downstairs _"Mmm… ramen…"_ he thought slightly drooling "_Wait! Even if I know the smell of ramen like the back of my hand, I was never able to smell it! That means that I already have the abilities Kyuubi gave me!"_

"**Yeah it worked" **said Kyuubi

"_Wait, how can you talk to me right now? I thought I needed to be relaxed or focused for you to be able to talk to me" _asked a very confused blonde

"**Well, when I gave you your new abilities, I also made it possible for us to have a mental link. That way, we can talk anytime and I can give you advice and help you out in battle. I could also help you with you training" **Kyuubi replied

"_Awesome! Well, now I must get going. There's some ramen waiting to be eaten" _he said with a smirk and a little drool coming out of the corner of his mouth before dashing to the kitchen

"Ramen, ramen, ramen!" he chanted

Both of his parents, who were sitting in the kitchen, heard him and chuckled "Reminds me of myself when I was younger" said Minato

"Yeah, and also of myself after we met. I swear it's your fault I love ramen so much" Kushina scolded playfully

"But you don't regret trying it, do you?" smirked Minato

"Who would?" asked Kushina before both of them broke out laughing

"Hey mom, dad where's the ramen?" asked Naruto looking around for his favorite food

"Here, sweetie" answered his mother chuckling while putting down a bowl on the table

"Thank you" replied the younger one in the room before stuffing his face. He was done in less than a minute "Is there more?" he asked with stars in his eyes

"Why yes, there is dear. But only enough for two more refills" replied the red haired woman while filling Naruto's bowl again

"Mom, your ramen is tied in the first place with Ichiraku's!" exclaimed Naruto

"Wait, you said Ichiraku?" asked Minato looking at his son

"Yeah, I did. Why?" asked Naruto

"It just surprised me that he still runs the place" said Minato "We used to go there almost every day. Teuchi was a good friend of ours and one of the best cooks we knew"

"We need to pay him a visit" said Kushina going to the sink to clean Naruto's bowl

"Yeah. How about we go there tonight? You can also tell Sasuke, Sakura and her mom to come. Invite Kakashi too. I need to go over the Sandaime's office to ask him where the hell that pervert of a sensei of mine is" said Minato

"Sure, I'm meeting them in a while for our usual chores" said Naruto upset that he had to do 'missions' that even civilians with no kind of ninja training could do

"Okay then. Good luck with the chores" said Kushina laughing

"See you later mom, dad" he said rushing to get his stuff eager to meet with a certain pink haired kunoichi

* * *

Sasuke and Sakura were already at the bridge where they always met waiting for Naruto and Kakashi to show up when they saw a black and yellow blur that stopped in front of them

"Hey there Sakura-chan, teme" said Naruto hugging his girlfriend

"Hi Naruto-kun" said Sakura kissing his cheek

"_**When will you kiss him full on the lips?" **_asked Inner Sakura

"_On our next date I will" _replied Sakura

"_**Shannaro! That's my girl!"**_ said Inner Sakura

"Oh, Sakura-chan, Sasuke, my dad asked me to invite you guys to Ichiraku's tonight along with Kaka-sensei. Oh, he also asked me to tell you to bring your mom, Sakura-chan" said Naruto

"Sure! She actually told me she wanted to meet with your mom soon so I'm sure she will agree. Did he say what time?" asked Sakura

"Eh… No" he answered chuckling and scratching his head "I suppose that's up to me, so how about 7?"

"Okay then" said Sakura cheerfully

"Hn, ok" said Sasuke

"_I guess it will take a while for him to fully open up… well, at least he accepted" _thought Naruto

"Argh… why does Kaka-sensei has to be so late to everything!" shouted Naruto pulling his hair making his girlfriend giggle

"Well, the only thing we can do right now is wait" said Sakura sighing

"I guess you're right" said Naruto sitting down

* * *

Minato was currently going up the stairs of the Hokage Building to ask the Third about his sensei. He felt a chakra signature along with the Sandaime's from inside the room but it disappeared, so he paid no mind to it. When he reached the door, he knocked it.

"Come in" said the old man's voice from the inside and Minato opened the door "Ahh, Minato. What can I do for you?"

"I wanted to ask you if you know where the pervert is" said the blonde man

"I received a messenger toad last night saying he was on his way as soon as his network informed him of you and that he would be here around noon" replied the aging leader

"Heh you sure about that?" asked Minato earning a confused look from Sarutobi "Long time no see, Jiraiya-sensei"

"Haha as sharp as ever I see" said the white haired Sannin "I see the rumors were true then. Look Minato, I'm sorry I wasn't there for Naruto this time. I'm possibly the worst godfather you could have chosen. I haven't even seen my godchild since he was born"

"It's ok sensei. I know that you travel almost all the time. But now that you're here, would you like to meet him?" asked Minato grinning

"What do you think?" answered Jiraiya grinning as well

"Then go to Ichiraku's tonight" said Minato

"Minato, have you tried to summon toads lately?" asked Jiraiya "They don't know about your revival yet"

"No, I haven't. I should try to see if the contract still works" he said

"Could you please try it outside? I don't want my office destroyed because you summon a big toad 'accidentally' like last time" said Sarutobi remembering when Jiraiya taught Minato how to do it and he decided to piss of the Hokage

"You still remember that?" asked Minato sweat dropping

"Well, you did summon Gamabunta here. What would you expect? That was the first time this building had to be rebuilt without an attack on the village" answered the old man

"Okay then. Come on sensei, let's try if it still works" and with that, the student and teacher duo left the office through the window

"I swear Naruto got his prankster attitude from both of them. Now that they're back, they'll be the end of me" said Sarutobi to no one with anime like tears

* * *

The toad summoners had gone to a nearby training field

"I swear he took that prank too seriously" said Minato

"Heh it's not every day you see Bunta appearing out of nowhere inside a building bringing it down completely. It was a pretty epic prank" said Jiraiya chuckling at the memory

"Anyway, let's get down to business" said Minato suddenly turning serious

"Try summoning Bunta. If he is the one to announce it on Myobokuzan, then the toads will believe him seeing as he is the boss" suggested Jiraiya

"Okay, here I go" said Minato biting his finger to draw some blood out before making the required hand seals "Kuchiyose no jutsu!"

A complicated seal appeared around where his hand touched the ground and a giant poof of smoke appeared. The smoke dissipated to reveal a toad bigger than most buildings in the entire village

"Why did you summon me if there is no danger, Jiraiya?" asked the toad boss

"Actually, it was me who summoned you, Bunta" said Minato smirking

"Who said th…" was all the giant toad managed to say before noticing the Yondaime "N-N-Na-Namikaze Minato? I-I thought you died twelve years ago when we were fighting Kyuubi!"

"I actually did, but remember I sealed Kyuubi in my newborn son along with Kushina?" he asked getting a nod for an answer "Well, long story short, we made a mistake, sealed ourselves in Naruto along with Kyuubi and she agreed to revive us"

"I have to inform of this to the toads as soon as possible!" said Gamabunta

"Wait! I wanted to ask both of you if we can get Naruto to sign the contract" said Minato

"I don't see why not. He is you son after all" said Jiraiya

"I'm fine with it too. I would like to meet the son of the only human I ever allow to ride on my head" said Gamabunta "If that's all, then I'm heading back"

"Now that we're alone, have you got any reports from your spies?" asked Minato knowing of the spy network Jiraiya controlled around the shinobi nations

"I was going to tell this to the old man earlier but one of my spies in Otogakure reported that Orochimaru has lately been changing bases quite frequently and that worries me. I have asked him to report back with anything even if it doesn't seems important" replied Jiraiya seriously

"You think he is up to something?" asked Minato

"I wouldn't be surprised if he was" said the white haired man crossing his arms "That's why we have to be prepared for anything"

"Knowing him, I would say if he plans an attack, he won't do it alone. That snake might persuade another village into helping him and he would try to infiltrate as much forces in the village as he can" said the blonde

"Let's discuss this with the old man" said Jiraiya

"Let's go back then" replied Minato

* * *

By that time, Team 7 had finished their usual missions and before Kakashi left, Naruto remembered the favor his dad asked him

"Hey Kakashi-sensei!" said Naruto

"Hm? What is it Naruto?" asked the jounin

"My dad asked me to invite you to Ichiraku's tonight at 5. Sasuke and Sakura-chan will go too" said Naruto

"_Hn. I see why he said that"_ thought Sasuke smirking while Sakura only smiled at her boyfriend's little lie

"_**Shannaro! That's our Naruto-kun! That way sensei won't be late"**_

"Sure, tell Minato-sensei I will be there" said Kakashi "Ja ne" and he disappeared in a swirl of leaves

As soon as he left, both Naruto and Sakura broke out laughing and had to hold each other not to fall and Sasuke actually chuckled

"Nice one, dobe. Seeing as he is always exactly two hours late to everything, he will actually be on time" said Sasuke

"We should have done that king of stuff since the beginning" said Sakura

"Yeah. From now on, we will be two hours late to meetings that involve Kakashi-sensei, but because he is always late, he won't be able to say anything to us" said Naruto "I'm going home. I'm sure mom has made ramen again. Mmm, raaamen"

Sakura giggled "Mind walking me home?"

"How could I say no to you?" answered Naruto with his famous grin

"See you tonight, Sasuke" said Sakura taking her boyfriend's hand in hers

"Yeah, see ya, Sasuke" said Naruto

"Hn, bye" was the only thing the third member of Team 7 said before leaving

* * *

Naruto and Sakura were walking hand in hand in a comfortable silence towards the latter's house

"Umm, Naruto-kun?" said Sakura

"Yeah?" he said

"Do you mind if we go to the park before going to my house?" she asked

"Sure, let's go" said Naruto smiling to her

Sakura led him to a bench where they sat just holding each other not saying anything.

Sakura decided she would break the silence "Naruto-kun?"

"What is it Sakura-chan?" he replied

"Well, I was thinking… and well, we've already been together for a few days but we haven't…properly kissed yet" she said blushing

Naruto was also blushing "So, you want to…uhm…kiss now?"

"Yeah, well, if you want to…" she said shyly

Instead of replying, Naruto started leaning towards her face and she waited anxiously. Soon enough, she felt his lips kissing hers and started to kiss him back. It was innocent at first, but after they got used to the feeling, they started to pour emotions into it, but eventually they had to separate due to the lack of air.

"Wow…" they said at the same time with flushed faces before leaning again into another kiss. When they broke their kiss, they remembered they had to go to Sakura's place

"Sakura-chan, as much as I love this, I think it's time to leave" said Naruto

"Yeah, I think we should. But promise me we will do this more often" she said the last part blushing and smiling cutely at him

"You bet we will" he said smiling as well "One last kiss before leaving?" She just kissed him instead of saying anything

"Ok, let's leave or we'll end up showing up late like Kakashi-sensei" said Sakura giggling

"Heh you're right. Can't show up late after that little lie I told Kaka-sensei, can we?" he said

Once they got to Sakura's house, Naruto surprised her by kissing her for the fourth time that day "Remember to tell your mom" he said smiling at her

"About our kisses?" she asked playing dumb

"If you want, but I was talking about tonight" he replied

"I'll tell her. Bye Naruto-kun"

"See you tonight, beautiful" he said kissing her once again

Sakura entered her house and started removing her sandals when her mom came down the stairs

"Oh, you're home already Sakura" said Sayaki

"Hey mom, Naruto-kun said his parents asked us to go to Ichiraku's tonight at 7 and you said you wanted to talk to Naruto's mom soon" said Sakura

"Yeah, I really missed her. Who knows, maybe we could become a team again and go back on missions for old time's sake" said her mom "Anyway, now that you're here, how about some lunch?"

* * *

Later that day, Naruto and his parents were on their way to Ichiraku's

"Dad, you said I would be meeting someone, who is it?" asked Naruto eagerly

"My sensei, who is also your godfather" replied Minato "His name is Jiraiya"

"I think I heard his name somewhere before"

"Maybe at school, gaki" said a tall, white haired man behind them

"Hey! You're the pervert I saw some years ago peeking in the women's bath at the hot springs!" said Naruto glaring at the man in front of him

"So you still do that, don't you Jiraiya?" asked Kushina cracking her knuckles

"Nice to see you too, Kushina" said Jiraiya sweat dropping

"Wait, he's Jiraiya? That pervert was your sensei, dad?"

"Why you little brat! It's super pervert for you!"

"Uhh, sensei, I think you should shut up" said Minato nervously

"Why? I'm just making sure…" he stopped when he saw the look Kushina was giving him. It scared him even more than the day Kyuubi attacked

"Now Jiraiya, you will stop your crap before I seal your mouth, and trust me, I can just do that"

Instead of answering, he hid behind Minato and sealed his lips with his fingers

"Mom you're scary when you're angry…" said Naruto

"Thank you dear" she said smiling

"Naruto-kun!" shouted a voice down the street

When Naruto turned around, he saw his girlfriend running up to him

"Hey, I missed you" he said kissing her forgetting about everyone else

"Ooohh so the gaki's got himself a girlfriend" said Jiraiya reaching to his notebook, but a look from Kushina stopped him dead in his tracks

"Don't. You. Dare" she said with a glare that would scare even the Shinigami himself

"Yes, ma'am" said the pervert before hiding behind Minato again

"K-Kushina? Is that you?" asked Sayaki who had just catched up to her daughter

"Hey, Sayaki. Long time no see" said Kushina before the two old friends hugged tightly

"It's been really different without you around" said Sayaki "Especially when Mikoto was killed…"

"Yeah I heard about that from Sasuke…" she said but immediately tried to cheer everyone up "How about we go inside?"

"Sure" was the common answer

As soon as they got inside, Sasuke and Kakashi came in

"Wait, am I hallucinating or is Hatake Kakashi actually on time?" asked Jiraiya while furiously rubbing his eyes

"No, you're not hallucinating, Jiraiya-sama. Naruto over there tricked me to make me come on time. Said meeting was at 5 when it was actually at 7. Real smart son you got there, sensei" said Kakashi felling a little stupid to be fooled like that

"Well he is my son after all" said Minato

"If it isn't Minato and Kushina. After I heard both of you died, I thought my business would be done for, but your son over there managed to keep me running" said Teuchi making everyone laugh "This family is like a blessing for the ramen restaurants"

"I think love for ramen runs in our blood" said Minato

"No doubt about that" said Teuchi "You guys want to order yet?"

"Sure. Guys go ahead and order, I'll have one extra large of each" said Minato

"_Thank you Kami for the Namikaze clan"_ thought Teuchi while writing down the orders

That night everyone had a good time including Sasuke, who had actually talked to the rest of the people there, a big step for him towards fully opening up. Naruto and Sakura had started calling Jiraiya Ero-sennin much to his dismay and the older ones in the place thought it suited him perfectly. Everyone went home around midnight and Team 7 fell asleep without knowing that the next day would be the start of their hardest mission yet.

* * *

**Again, I'm sorry I took this long. Anyway, keep voting in the poll on my profile. It will be open until I get to the chunin exams**

**R&R**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 here **

"Normal speech"

_"Thoughts"_

_**"**__Inner Sakura"_

**"Kyuubi"**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**_****__  
_

* * *

The forest surrounding Konoha was completely calm and the creatures that inhabited it were minding their own business.

"I'm in position"

"Hn, let's get this over with"

"Target located dattebayo!"

"On 3, capture the target. 1,2…3 GO"

Three shadows jumped towards the creature startling it and before it realized what happened, one of the shadows got it.

"Mission accomplished. Good job, guys" said Kakashi walking over to them

"You call this good job?" yelled Naruto, who was currently having the hell scratched out of his face by the widely hated Tora, the Daimyo's wife's cat.

"Let's just report this to Hokage-sama and go to the next 'mission'. As soon as we're done with this, the better" said Sasuke annoyed at doing things even little kids could do.

* * *

"Mommy missed you! Thank you for bringing Tora-chan back! Here's your pay" said the Daimyo's wife crushing the poor cat in her embrace

"_Serves you right" _thought Naruto glaring at the cat

"_I get why it escapes so frequently"_ thought Sakura sweat dropping

"Okay, Team 7, the missions available are babysitting, helping out in a store, and walking do…" the Sandaime couldn't finish because of the loud groan that came from Naruto

"Ojii-san can't we do a REAL mission? Like dealing with bandits or escorting someone or anything like that?" exclaimed Naruto

His teammates were silently agreeing with him but his sensei's thoughts were more along the lines of "I'm going to get a lecture later"

"Naruto, those are C-ranked missions! You just graduated from the academy so you have to keep doing those until you are experienced enough" was Iruka's outburst at his former student's request

"Naruto, you have to understand that even D-rank missions contribute to the village's development. Besides, missions are assigned according to the shinobi's rank. Genin like yourself are assigned D-ranks and more experienced ones may go on an occasional C-rank. Chunins go on C-ranks and some B-ranks and finally, jounins and ANBU will take care of the higher ranking missions that are A-rank and S-rank" explained Sarutobi but noticed that neither Naruto nor his teammates were listening"

"I'm telling you guys, you have to come over to my place! I'ts awesome" said Naruto

"Sure, I'll go with you after this is over" said Sakura winking to Naruto. Sasuke just nodded

"_Why do I even bother?" _thought the old man sweat dropping

"Naruto! Have some respect for your superiors!" shouted Iruka with his signature Big-Head no jutsu

"_Yup, I'm getting a lecture later"_ thought Kakashi sighing

"If you are so set on going on a C-rank, there is currently one available" said the white haired man

"Are you sure about this, Hokage-sama?" asked Iruka

"If Kakashi hasn't said no, that must mean he trusts his team is ready, right Kakashi?" asked Sarutobi

"Hai Hokage-sama, I believe we can do this" answered Kakashi bowing

"Yeah! Finally a decent mission!" shouted Naruto hugging Sakura who was cheering as well

"_Sometimes it's good when that dobe complains" _thought Sasuke smirking

"Tazuna-san, you can come in" said Sarutobi

The door opened to reveal an old man dressed in a brown sleeveless shirt and beige pants. He also had a cloth around his neck, but what stood out the most about him, was his breath. It reeked of alcohol.

"Ehh? Those kids will be the ones to make sure I get home safely?" said the man known as Tazuna "Is that short gaki with a stupid face really a ninja"

"Why you!" shouted Naruto, who looked like he was going to rip the man apart had it not been for Sakura and Sasuke holding him back

"Tazuna-san, he is actually the son of our Yondaime Hokage" said Hiruzen

"The Yondaime's son, huh? Doesn't matter. I'm the super bridge builder Tazuna. Your job is to protect me until my super bridge is finished"

"Okay, team; go get your things ready. We leave within the hour" said Kakashi dismissing the genin

Once they left, Iruka turned to the Hokage "I still don't think this was a good idea, Hokage-sama. That man looked like he was hiding something"

"I noticed that too, Iruka. But keep in mind that Kakashi is with them and I'm sure that by this time, Minato has already given Naruto one of his trademark kunai" answered Sarutobi "_I'm getting too old for this"_

* * *

Naruto was currently waiting for his team at the gate as he was the first one to arrive. He saw Sasuke walking towards him in the distance and waved. The last Uchiha just raised his hand as a response "_Well, some things won't change. At least he's not the stick-up-the-ass emo he was since the massacre"_

"Oi, dobe, did you notice anything suspicious about our client?" asked Sasuke

"Now that you mention it, he did seem a little suspicious and anxious to leave. As if he was hiding something" answered Naruto seriously

"I guess you're not so stupid after all" said Sasuke smirking

"Naruto-kun is not stupid!" was Sakura's outburst as she caught up to them and greeted Naruto with a kiss, which they were still getting used to

"Hn, whatever" said Sasuke when he noticed their sensei and their client going towards them

"Everyone ready to leave?" asked Kakashi getting a nod from everyone "Let's go then"

"Yeah! We're leaving the village!" exclaimed Naruto

"It sure looks nice around here" said Sakura looking around

"Not as nice as you" whispered Naruto making her blush

"Hey, I'm not paying you for a romantic walk through the forest" said Tazuna to the teen couple

"Fine" both teens said

"We'll continue this later" Sakura whispered to Naruto

"Oi, you sure I'm going to be safe with those kids?" asked Tazuna to Kakashi

"Yeah besides, I'm a jounin and the worst we could come across are some bandits, so you are more than safe" everyone noticed the older man squirm when Kakashi said that

"_He's definitely hiding something" _thought Kakashi

* * *

After about an hour of walking, they came across a puddle of water and everyone seemed to notice it.

"Hmmm, I wonder why is there a puddle when it's been sunny for weeks" Kakashi asked to himself alerting the genin

"Weird, isn't it Kaka-sensei?" asked Sakura playing along

"I say we find out why it's there" said Sasuke pulling out a kunai and throwing it to the water

Out of it came two figures with what seemed to be giant claws. As soon as they appeared, they trapped Kakashi with their chains and proceeded to shred him making the genin gasp in horror.

"**Kit, Kakashi is still alive. He used the Kawarimi. Focus and try out your new abilities now"** said Kyuubi to Naruto through the mental link they shared

"_Will do"_ said Naruto to Kyuubi before disappearing and reappearing directly behind one of the unknown ninja only to throw a punch that sent him crashing directly into a tree effectively knocking him out.

"Brother!" shouted the remaining ninja "Damn you brat! I don't have time to deal with you right now"

The clawed shinobi went to try and kill Tazuna, but Sasuke and Sakura finally managed to move and took out a kunai each intending to fight.

Sasuke threw his kunai to the man and started going through hand seals. The unknown man effectively blocked it but missed Sakura, who had jumped and was above him. She threw her kunai and hit him directly in the elbow effectively rendering that arm useless and making him scream in pain. Because of that, he had forgotten about Sasuke, who by this time finished with his hand seals.

"Katon: Housenka no jutsu!" shouted Sasuke launching a large number of fire projectiles to the unsuspecting man

"Good job, guys" said Kakashi appearing from between some trees and shocking Sasuke and Sakura

"Thank you sensei" said Naruto grinning with a hand behind his head

"Naruto-kun, you knew Kaka-sensei was alive?" asked Sakura with an extremely sweet smile

Naruto seemed clueless to it, so he didn't bother for an excuse "Yeah I did" he said patting his stomach as a sign that Kyuubi told him

"Baka! Why didn't you tell us!" shouted Sakura hitting him in the head

"That hurt, Sakura-chan" said Naruto rubbing the bump on his head

"Sorry about that, but I thought sensei had actually been killed" said Sakura

"Thank you for showing so much confidence in your sensei's abilities" said Kakashi sweat dropping and lowering his head "Anyway, guys tie up that guy while I ask this one some questions"

"Naruto-kun" said Sakura while they tied the man

"Yeah?"

"When did you become so fast and strong? You weren't like that during sensei's test" Sakura asked her boyfriend

"It's thanks to you-know-who" said Naruto taking a quick glance at Tazuna, who didn't seem to notice as he was too preoccupied with some thoughts to hear. Kakashi came out of the forest yet again dragging the shinobi behind him before tying him up to the same tree as the other one.

"Tazuna-san, when where you planning on telling us you were wanted dead?" asked Kakashi seriously "These two men are known as the Demon Brothers of the Mist. They are chunin rank shinobi from Kirigakure. I hid myself for two reasons. One, to see how my team would fare on a real combat against enemy ninjas and two, to see who they were after. If they were after me, then they would of left you alone, but when I was supposedly 'killed', they went straight towards you. Care to elaborate what's really going on?"

Tazuna broke down "Fine, fine. The country where I come from is extremely poor and we can't afford anything. On top of that, there's this man, Gato, who has taken over the country using people as his workers with extremely low pay and selling the women and girls for pleasure. I am working on a bridge to help the economic situation of my country, but Gato is having none of that. He's sent his thugs to kill me and now there's also shinobi"

"Due to the recent change in this mission, we should head back to Konoha as it is now a B-rank or low A-rank, but it's not my place to decide. Guys, want to continue?" asked Kakashi to his students

"I can always go for a challenge" said Sasuke smirking

"We can't leave him to die here" reasoned Sakura

"We accepted this mission so let's finish it! Dattebayo!" exclaimed Naruto

"Then it's decided. We'll keep going" said Kakashi

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" said Tazuna, tears of happiness freely cascading from his eyes "I swear I will send the full pay to Konoha once my country is back to full shape"

"It's ok, but for now, let's just keep going" said Kakashi

* * *

After walking for a few hours, Tazuna lead them towards a boat with a man in it.

"Oh, Tazuna-san, ready to go back?" asked the man

"Yeah" he answered "He will take us to Wave"

"You need to be quiet when the bridge is in view or they will come for us" said the man

"No doubt the next guy Gato will send will be at least a jounin seeing as by this time I'm sure he knows we dealt with the Demon Brothers, who were chunin" Kakashi told his Team

Soon enough, the unfinished bridge came into their view surprising the genin with the size of it. They also remembered they had to stay quiet not to be noticed. They crossed a tunnel and found themselves in a poor town where the boat docked.

"This is as far as I can take you. You're on your own now" said the man sailing away

"Let's try to get to your house before the sun sets" said Kakashi walking in the direction Tazuna said his house was

After a few miles, they were walking through yet another forest when Naruto sensed something and immediately threw a kunai to a bush startling everyone, though nothing happened making Kakashi go towards where Naruto threw his kunai. He found an extremely scared rabbit and took note of his color.

"_Strange. This is a snow rabbit. They don't live around here and even so, they're only white during winter. Someone must've lost it"_ thought Kakashi

"**Kit, there is someone hiding. Give your friends a sign"** said Kyuubi

"_Hai" _said Naruto, but Kakashi beat him to it

"Everyone, get down!" shouted Kakashi as a huge blade came spiraling just through where they had been standing.

The sword hit one of the trees and a man jumps onto its handle "Hmmm, impressive I must say. A mere genin saw through my trap"

"You…" said Kakashi surprising his students "If it isn't Momochi Zabuza, the Demon of the Hidden Mist"

"Sensei, you know him?" asked Sasuke not once looking away from Zabuza

"He used to be one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and a Kirigakure ANBU before he abandoned his village" said Kakashi

"Nice to know the legendary Copy Ninja Hatake Kakashi knows about me" mocked Zabuza "Now, if you excuse me, I have to kill the old fart. Kirigakure no jutsu"

Mist started to form in the area and it started to thicken making it almost impossible to see.

"Keep your eyes open to your surroundings. He is a master of silent killing. He is able to kill you before you even notice" said Kakashi lifting his hitai ate to reveal his sharingan eye before the mist was deeper than before

"_Kyuubi, help me with this"_ requested Naruto

"**Already doing it" **was the short answer

"Hmmm, where should I strike? Heart, liver, jugular… so many good points to choose from" echoed Zabuza's voice through the mist

The genin nervously got in position around Tazuna each pointing a kunai to the front. They couldn't see Kakashi anymore, so they had to be confident

"**He's coming from behind!" **

Naruto quickly took out another kunai and moved to where Zabuza was planning to strike making an X with his kunai. The massive blade clashed with Naruto's kunai and he struggled trying not to lose his footing. Suddenly, Zabuza had to block a stab attempt from his left, making him leave his fight with Naruto to concentrate on the new pest.

"Sakura-chan, protect Tazuna-san" said Naruto before making his signature hand seal

"Hai Naruto-kun" answered Sakura

"Kage bunshin no jutsu!" shouted Naruto creating three clones who went straight towards Zabuza throwing punches and kicks at him helping Sasuke.

The real Naruto was trying to locate Kakashi, who was also trying to find them through the mist.

"Kakashi-sensei!" shouted Naruto once Kyuubi told him where Kakashi was

Zabuza managed to dispel the clones and throw Sasuke away like it was nothing before heading towards Kakashi after realizing that in order to kill his target; he would have to deal with him and the genin first.

"Mizu bunshin no jutsu" said Zabuza creating a replica of himself to fight the kids while he took care of Kakashi

"Sasuke! Get your ass over here and help me with this!" shouted Naruto who was fending off Zabuza's clone by himself

"Oi, dobe! Move!" shouted Sasuke going through hand seals "Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu"

Naruto jumped out of the way just in time before the gigantic blazing ball engulfed Zabuza's clone evaporating it into nothingness. They didn't have time to relax as when they turned around to see how their sensei was doing, they saw Zabuza doing some hand seals.

"Suiton: Suirou no jutsu" said Zabuza trapping Kakashi in a sort of water sphere. When Kakashi tried to escape, he saw it was no use "Don't even bother doing anything. You can't do any jutsu in there, so be a good boy and await your death"

As soon as he finished saying that, the genin got worried.

"**Kit, I have a plan" **said Kyuubi getting Naruto's attention

* * *

Meanwhile, Sakura was watching worriedly as her team fought the Kirigakure missing nin

"_I feel like I'm so useless right now. Naruto-kun and Sasuke managed to destroy a clone and I'm just standing here guarding Tazuna-san"_ thought Sakura feeling down

"_**So what do you plan to do to change that?"**_ asked Inner Sakura

"_I will train until I can no longer stand so I won't be behind them anymore"_

"_**Shannaro! Ask sensei for help, after all it's his job to train us"**_added Inner Sakura

"_I'm also sure Naruto-kun would agree to spar with us" _thought Sakura

* * *

"**You remember everything?" **asked Kyuubi

"_Yeah, don't worry. We'll save sensei, dattebayo!" _

"Oi, Sasuke! I got a plan" shouted Naruto

"What is it?" asked Sasuke. Naruto explained what Kyuubi told him and they readied themselves to save their sensei

Naruto then threw Sasuke a fuuma shuriken, which he threw back right at Zabuza, who had to use his free hand to stop it. What Zabuza hadn't expected though, was that there was another shuriken directly below the one he had caught, so to dodge it, he had to jump. The shuriken flew right past him.

"Looks like you missed kid" said Zabuza and Sasuke only smirked

"Not really!" came a voice behind Zabuza and when he turned around, he saw a kunai flying towards the arm that was holding the water prison. His reflexes made him take his arm out of there before it was too late, but by doing so, he freed Kakashi.

"Good plan, Naruto, Sasuke" said Kakashi drenched in water "Go back to Sakura. I got this covered"

"You got this covered you say? How ironic. Just a moment ago I had you trapped and your genin had to release you" said Zabuza chuckling. He started doing some hand seals and noticed Kakashi did as well

"Suiton: Suiryuudan no jutsu" both of them said at the same time. Suddenly, two massive dragons made entirely of water rose from the river where they were standing and started crashing between themselves in an attempt to hit their targets. As the battle between the jutsus raged on, Zabuza and Kakashi went to fight using their weapons.

"Heh, your kunai is no match for my Kubikiri Houchou" said Zabuza pushing Kakashi's kunai before both jumped back. Kakashi was making seals in midair shocking Zabuza.

"Suiton: Daibakufu no jutsu" said Kakashi before a water circle formed in front of him and it shot towards Zabuza and enveloped him. The current was so strong that it made it hard for Zabuza to move. The genin were shocked at the sheer power of the technique as it tore its way through the forest before eventually stopping flooding the area. When the current settled down, Zabuza was leaning against a tree and before anyone could do anything, two senbon came flying and embedded themselves on Zabuza's neck.

The Konoha ninjas turned to where the needles came from and saw a person standing on a tree branch. The person was wearing a blue kimono with a dark long sleeved shirt under it and brown pants. His face could not be seen because of the mask he was wearing. It was a typical ANBU mask with the Kirigakure no Sato symbol in the forehead. He also had black straight hair that fell on two bangs to the sides of his face and it was made a bun on the back of his head.

"Thank you for dealing with Zabuza. I have been tracking him down but he always kept escaping" said the newcomer "I'll deal with him from now on"

They just watched as the figure jumped down and took Zabuza's body before jumping away.

"Weird" said Kakashi walking up to his students and Tazuna, who was too shocked to move having witnessed a fight between two top notch shinobi

"What is it?" asked Sasuke

"Kirigakure's hunter nin usually destroy the body of their target after killing them in order to protect any valuable information they may hold regarding the village" explained Kakashi

"At least it's over now" said Sakura relieved it had finally ended

"Yeah, let's get go…" was all that came out of Kakashi's mouth before he fell down face first to the ground

"Kakashi-sensei!" shouted the genin rushing to see what was wrong

"He's breathing" stated Sakura relieved

"Must be chakra exhaustion" said Sasuke

"Thank god sensei's ok" said Naruto

"Let's go to my house so he can rest" suggested Tazuna before they took off

* * *

**I'll close the poll on my profile. The winner was to pair Sasuke up with Karin, but it won't happen for a while. Also, she will be kind of an important character later on.**

**R&R**


	8. Chapter 8

**Here's chapter 8. Enjoy!**

"Normal speech"

_"Thoughts"_

_**"**__Inner Sakura"_

**"Kyuubi"**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**_****__  
_

* * *

Kakashi woke up only to see he was in an unfamiliar room. Soon enough, memories about what happened flooded his mind and his head started to hurt. He suppressed an urge to groan and grabbed his hair while sitting up in the bed he was in. His body ached terribly and he could barely move.

The door opened a little bit and a woman in her early 30s peeked to see if he was awake. When she verified that he indeed was awake, she opened the door completely.

"Oh, you're finally awake. I'll tell your students about this. My name is Tsunami, by the way" she said turning around to leave

"Wait" said Kakashi before she left "How long was I out?"

"Around three days" she said and finally left

* * *

Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke were sitting in the kitchen of Tazuna's house waiting for news on their sensei's health. Naruto and Sakura sat next to each other, Sakura leaning on Naruto with her head on his shoulder, and Sasuke across from them.

"C'mon Kakashi-sensei, wake up so you can teach us new jutsus!" said Naruto exasperated

"We've already lost three days we could have used to train" said Sasuke with a sigh and glaring at the table

"He should be up by now though" said Sakura trying to cheer up her teammates "Sure, he ran out of chakra but it wasn't that bad"

They heard footsteps and turned towards the door to see Tsunami smiling

"Your teacher just woke up" she told them "I just checked on him and he looked like his body really hurt"

"Let's go, guys" said Naruto standing up and the rest of the team followed suit

"Sensei you're finally awake!" said Sakura smiling

"Yeah let's go do some training, dattebayo!" shouted Naruto grinning

"Yeah, yeah, but first can you give me one of the soldier pills I have in my pouch?" said Kakashi "I'm going to need them if we're going to train"

Sasuke took the pouch, which was on the nightstand next to him, and looked for the pill. He found a large amount of them inside a clear case, next to Kakashi's beloved smut book, took one and tossed it to his sensei expecting him to catch it. It hit Kakashi in the face making everyone fall anime style.

"Aren't you a jounin, sensei?" asked Naruto "I think even a little kid may have been able to catch it"

"Try to do it when you have no chakra and your whole body is sore" said the cyclops sweat dropping

"Oh, right forgot about that" said Sakura laughing awkwardly before taking the pill from the floor, where it had rolled, and put it in Kakashi's face. When he grabbed it, everyone leaned closer to look at his face, which none of them had seen since they met him, to try and have a good look. However, it seems fate wasn't on their side that day

"Hey, what's Hokage-sama doing walking over there?" asked Kakashi looking towards the window

"Eh?" asked three very confused genin who looked only to see there was nothing

"Heh, my chakra's coming back" said Kakashi stretching before noticing the glares his students were giving him. If looks could kill, he would have been dead before he noticed them

Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke were cracking their knuckles with smirks that promised he would be in a world of pain should he do it again. The silver haired sensei started to sweat a little; even he was scared at the looks he was receiving, so he decided the wisest thing at the moment.

"If we leave now, I'll teach you something new" said Kakashi

"Yosh! What're we waiting for!" shouted Naruto with his typical foxy grin "New jutsu here I come"

"I wonder what kind of jutsu sensei will teach us" said Sakura

Even Sasuke looked happy, well for his usual stoic character that is.

"I'm sorry I overheard, but there is a small forest with a clearing you could use" suggested Tsunami from the door

"Thank you, that will do" said Kakashi with his eye smile relieved that he would not have to face his student's wrath "C'mon guys, the faster we get there the sooner you learn what I got planned to teach you"

* * *

Once they got to the clearing, Kakashi sat down confusing his team

"Kakashi-sensei, weren't you supposed to teach us some super awesome jutsus?" asked Naruto

"First, I have to tell you something, so sit down" said Kakashi "I don't know if you noticed, but it really was weird when the hunter nin didn't dispose of Zabuza right there. Because of that, I believe they are working together. Besides, senbon aren't really used to kill and I remembered that if they hit certain spots in the human body, they can put the target in a death-like state until they're removed"

"So, what you're saying is that the ninja who took Zabuza away did it to save him?" asked Sasuke

"Yes, and Zabuza is still alive, so we have to train to be better prepared to face him and the other guy as they could strike any day" said Kakashi "Naruto, I noticed you are now faster and stronger. Any chance this is related to the Kyuubi?"

"That's the Kyuubi's doing. She gave me fox-like senses and improved my speed and strength" answered Naruto

"Now that I told you about that, what do you know about Chakra Nature?"

"It's the same as elemental affinity, right?" asked Sasuke

"That's right" said Kakashi taking three small papers "These papers will tell me what your element is. If it ignites and turns to ash, it's Katon or fire; if it splits in two, you got Fuuton or wind nature; if it crumples up, lightning or Raiton; if it turns to dirt and crumbles, earth or Doton and if it becomes wet or damp, you got water or Suiton"

"I already know I can use Katon, so I don't need to do that" said Sasuke

"While you may be right, it's not unheard of for someone to have more than one element" said Kakashi "If you were one of those cases, wouldn't you want to learn more than just how to use fire style jutsus?"

"Fine, give me one of those" said Sasuke while Kakashi while giving one to each of the teens

"Umm, sensei nothing happened" said Naruto making Kakashi sweat drop

"Naruto, those are meant to check your chakra nature so you have to send some chakra" said Kakashi

After that pointer, they did just what their sensei said and out of the three of them, Sasuke was the most surprised. His paper crumpled up meaning he could use Raiton aside from Katon. Sakura's became wet and started to drip water drops and Naruto's split in two.

"See?" Kakashi asked Sasuke with his typical eye smile and Sasuke just smirked "Before we start training with your respective elements, you will have to do a chakra control exercise every shinobi has to do. Tree climbing"

"We can already do that" said Naruto "Besides, what does that have to do with chakra?"

"I know you can do it, but how about doing it without using your hands?" asked Kakashi smiling at their surprised faces before walking up to a tree and walking up its trunk like it was nothing. The three genin had their eyes wide open because they had never believed it was possible to use chakra for such things.

The first one to recover from the shock was Sasuke "How do we do it?"

"Focus a certain amount of chakra in your feet and hold it while you are climbing" explained Kakashi "If you don't use enough chakra, you will fall and if you use too much, the bark of the tree will break and you will also fall. Use a kunai to mark how high you got"

Once they had a kunai out, the three genin rushed to the tree in their first attempt. Sasuke climbed about the half of the tree and then fell. Naruto only got about 4 feet high because he used so much he blew the bark and flew some feet face first into the floor and Sakura was nowhere in sight.

"Up here guys" said Sakura cheerfully sitting on a branch near the top

Naruto looked proud of his girlfriend and Sasuke looked a tad envious. Kakashi had suspected about her abilities in chakra control and this exercise only confirmed it.

"Sakura, you can come down now" said Kakashi. Sakura jumped down and noticed her boyfriend didn't have the same luck as her on his first try so she decided to give him some pointers.

"Naruto-kun" said Sakura walking towards him "Try to gather the chakra on your feet before rushing to the tree. Maybe try using the tiger seal too"

"Thank you Sakura-chan" said Naruto smiling "I'll do it now"

"I know you will" she said kissing him for luck before heading towards where Kakashi was waiting. During the three days they were in Wave, Naruto and Sakura had become more comfortable with their relationship and hugs and kisses became more frequent.

Naruto tried the exercise again using the pointers Sakura gave him and managed to get a little above of Sasuke's first try, which was about halfway up. Sasuke looked surprised to see that a little tip could help Naruto so much as to go above him. He really wanted to ask what it was, but his pride wouldn't allow it.

* * *

While both of them kept trying, Kakashi was considering asking Sakura something that had been on his mind since he saw her chakra control.

"Sensei, what jutsu will you teach me?" asked Sakura

"First, let me ask you something" when he saw Sakura nod, he continued "Has anyone told you that your chakra control is near perfect?"

"Not really" she said

"You have potential to be a really good medic nin" said Kakashi "I have some scrolls about medical ninjutsu back home and if you want them, I could give them to you"

"Tsunade-sama was a medic nin, right?" she asked. When she saw him nod, she continued "She was my role model when I was still in the first years of the academy. I think I'll become a medic nin, sensei"

"You know that she was a Sannin along with Jiraiya-sama, right?" asked Kakashi

"That pervert… Yeah, I knew that" said Sakura

"Maybe he knows where she is and we could look for her so she could teach you a thing or two about healing jutsus" said the silver haired jounin "But for now, let's focus on what I'm going to teach you"

"Hai, sensei" said the pinkette

"During the time we stay here, I'm going to teach you nature manipulation and then a couple of Suiton jutsus" said Kakashi "I will also teach Naruto and Sasuke nature manipulation and jutsus on their respective elements once they're done with tree climbing"

"How do I do that?" asked Sakura

Kakashi grabbed a leaf from the floor and showed it to Sakura "You have to control the water inside this leaf and take it out so it will be completely dry" He then proceeded to concentrate and the leaf started to become brown, signaling it was completely dry. Water dripped from the leaf onto Kakashi's hand and then to the floor.

"Wow, I never thought that could be possible" said a surprised Sakura

"That's because you haven't really seen anything of the shinobi world. Things beyond your wildest dreams may happen" explained Kakashi "There are more ways to train in nature manipulation for your elemental affinity but they're harder and require you master this first. Because of your chakra control, I know you may be able to pull this off rather fast"

Sakura nodded and picked up a leaf to try and dry it up. She sent some of her chakra to the leaf to try and take all of the liquid from it, but only managed to dry about 1/5 of the leaf. She didn't look pleased with that, so she tried harder the next time but still got the same result. Kakashi seemed to notice this.

"Don't worry, this won't happen instantly and it's not about how much chakra you use but rather how you use it" he said trying to calm her down before she became frustrated and it seemed to work

* * *

Back with Naruto and Sasuke, both had made a significant progress and they were about ¾ up, and even though both felt tired, they refused to lose to the one they looked as a rival. This only seemed to fuel the desire to reach the top as fast as possible.

"Teme, I bet I can finish before you do" said Naruto smirking

"Yeah, right. Like a dobe could beat me" said Sasuke smirking as well "Might spice things up a little. The winner gets the loser's seconds during dinner"

"You're on!" shouted Naruto before rushing up the tree

After a few hours, both managed to reach the top of their respective tree at the exact same time and around that time, Sakura had also managed to dry completely her leaf. Kakashi and her were heading to where Naruto and Sasuke were resting so they could go back to Tazuna's house for dinner.

"Damn you, dobe" said Sasuke chuckling "I guess we both get seconds"

"Naruto-kun, Sasuke!" shouted Sakura walking up to them with Kakashi not too far behind

"Hey, Sakura-chan. How was your training?" asked Naruto

"She's doing really well" said Kakashi "How about yours? I want to know if you managed to reach the top today"

"Yeah we did it" answered Sasuke

"Alright, then let's go back to the house. Tomorrow you will start with your elemental training" said Kakashi

* * *

The journey back to the house was a quiet one, every one of them exhausted by their respective training. When they were a block away, Naruto picked up on the scent of Tsunami's cooking and started drooling a little at how delicious it smelt. Once they were inside, they found a little boy sitting at the table.

"Hey, you're just in time for dinner" said Tsunami smiling to her guests while serving them their plates

Naruto and Sasuke dug in like there was no tomorrow making Sakura giggle and Kakashi chuckle. This turned into yet another competition between the rivals to outdo each other. Tazuna walked in and couldn't help but laugh at them.

"It looks like you two were really hungry" said Kakashi

"Eat as much as you can" said Tazuna "After all, it's the least we can do for the people who are helping this country's future"

The boy couldn't hold his anger any longer "Go back home while you can! You don't know who you're messing with!" shouted the boy "That man has made my life a living hell! He killed my father right in front of my eyes. He will do the same thing to you if you don't leave"

While he was ranting, Naruto's anger started to surface "What do you know about pain, huh? You think that having your father killed is bad enough?" asked Naruto glaring daggers at the boy "If you think so, then you are truly pathetic"

Everyone was deadly quiet. His teammates and sensei knew what he was referring to, so they let him continue

"Sasuke's whole clan was slaughtered by a single man, and do you know who it was? I'll tell you who it was" said Naruto. He knew he had no right to say that, but the look Sasuke gave him, was like he was telling him it was ok "His own brother did it. The one he looked up to"

"And if you think that his life was the worst that could happen, then you are wrong" said Naruto still glaring at him "My life was the real definition of a living hell. My whole village hates me because of something I'm not even responsible for. I grew up being an orphan but they kicked me out of the orphanage when I was six years old. Every store charged me three times the price of anything and even then, some stores wouldn't even allow me to go in. Every year on my birthday, I would have to hide because the villagers looked for me to try and kill me and when they didn't find me, they went to my apartment and completely trashed it. And now, here I am. On a mission to help a village where some ungrateful brat who thinks his life is hell because he lost his father. I'm out of here" and with that, Naruto left the house going back to the clearing where they trained before. Sakura quickly followed after him to comfort him as she knew that was the best she could do for him.

The inhabitants of the house were really shocked at the revelation.

"Was what Naruto said true?" asked Tazuna unable to grasp the truth behind the blonde's words "Did the villagers really try to kill him?"

"I'm afraid it's true" said Kakashi

"And Sasuke, is it also true about what happened to your family?" asked Tsunami

"Yeah, that was also true. I'm the survivor of my entire clan" said Sasuke

"Let's just hope Sakura makes it in time" said Kakashi "She's the only one who is able to comfort him"

* * *

**Hope you liked it. Wrote it all in a rush because I'm leaving for a week on a trip with my girlfriend and there's no internet where we're going so I don't know if I'll be able to update next week**

**R&R**


	9. Chapter 9

**Here's chapter 9. I hope you enjoy it.**

**Thank you for all of the reviews and I'm sorry that I don't answer the questions some people have been asking since I started this story, but I don't want to spoil anything. I really appreciate the reviews, as they motivate me to write the next chapter. If there is any question you want to ask, you can do it via PM. Also, I think that a couple little spoilers won't harm anyone, so here they are:**

**1) I plan on sticking to the canon story as much as I can with my own twists, as I've been doing**

**2) Sasuke won't leave the village. I liked him before he left, so that is how he's staying. He will also open up to everyone in due time**

"Normal speech"

_"Thoughts"_

_**"**__Inner Sakura"_

**"Kyuubi"**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.****If I did, I wouldn't be writing FanFictions**_****__  
_

* * *

Naruto rushed through the tree branches, hoping he would end up where he was just some time ago. He tried to remember where it was, but whenever he did, images of his horrifying childhood came up along with some tears. When a lady treated him nice on his seventh birthday only to trick him into trusting her so she could lead him to an alley where a mob of angry villagers were waiting eagerly to rip his insides out. Being called a demon, monster and other sorts of things whenever he did so much as walking on the streets.

He then felt thankful to Kyuubi for bringing his parents back. After they revived, some of the villagers started to treat him like a human being, others ignored him, others were just hypocrites who apologized to him but deep down they still held a pointless grudge against him and there were the ones who simply didn't care his father was the Yondaime and still treated him as a scapegoat for every disgrace that occurred to them.

The blonde knew his mother wanted to take care of those who still viewed him as a demon, but he had told her to wait until he came back so they could both prank them. What they would do was a mother-son secret that not even Minato or Sakura knew about.

He finally reached the clearing and just as he landed, he sensed a presence not too far behind him thanks to Kyuubi's gift. It was proving to be useful having enhanced senses. He recognized the smell of the person following him. Strawberries. He only knew someone who used strawberry shampoo and it was his girlfriend.

Sakura didn't even give him time to turn around as she lunged on him and hugged him with all of her might.

"Naruto-kun, don't ever rush out like that again! Do you know how worried I was?" she said

Naruto turned around in her arms and returned the embrace "I'm sorry about that, but that kid really ticked me off. I was getting over everything that ever happened to me but he had to go and say that" said Naruto hugging her closer as if she would fade if he loosened his hold

"But there are people who care about you now" she said "I know I do. Your parents, Kakashi-sensei, Iruka-sensei, Hokage-sama and even Sasuke"

"I know that, but it's my past that keeps popping up in my mind. Being all alone, crying myself to sleep, death threats" the blonde said

"You won't be alone anymore, Naruto-kun. I will make sure of that because…" she said and then pulled their foreheads together looking into his deep cerulean eyes "Because I love you" and she locked their lips together. He immediately started kissing her back as his hands roamed freely across her back. She grabbed a fistful of his blonde locks with one hand as the other caressed his tanned cheek. She felt his tongue trying to get into her mouth and she let it in, fighting for dominance with her own tongue. This was the most passionate kiss the young couple had shared yet and both of them loved every second of it while exploring every corner of each other's mouth.

Eventually, their lungs decided they needed air, so they had to part but not without leaving a thin string of saliva keeping them together. Both had flushed faces and it looked like it would take a while before they came down from cloud nine. Naruto was the first one and smiled warmly at the beauty in front of him.

"I love you too, my cherry blossom" he said. She blushed at the nickname he had picked up for her

"That's not fair" she said with a cute pout that gave Naruto butterflies in his stomach "You have a nickname for me but I don't have one for you"

He only laughed while sitting down against a tree bringing her down to sit on his lap. She didn't offer any kind of resistance; she just snuggled against his chest and buried her head on his neck.

Naruto kissed the top of her head before answering "You can think of something some other time. Let's just rest here for the night" he felt her nod against his chest before kissing her head again "Goodnight, hime"

"Goodnight, my love" she replied before dozing off.

* * *

While Sakura went off to follow Naruto, Kakashi and Sasuke found out that the boy's name happened to be Inari. Tazuna told them about Inari's father figure, Kaiza, who had done so much for this country and especially that family. When he died, everyone lost hope as their hero had fallen.

"Tazuna-san, there is something I need to discuss with you" said Kakashi after everyone had left to bed. He knew Sakura and Naruto were ok, the latter had sent a clone to inform him that they would spend the night in the woods, so he didn't worry about them.

"What is it?" asked the old bridge builder, aware of the serious tone Kakashi was using

"I take it you remember Zabuza" said Kakashi

"It's not every day that you meet someone who wants to kill you" said Tazuna chuckling "But, where are you going with this? He's dead, isn't he?"

"That's actually the problem" said Kakashi. Tazuna's eyes grew as the realization was starting to dawn upon him

"You can't mean he's still alive!" he exclaimed "I mean, we saw how he was killed!"

"I didn't think anything about it at the time, but the weapons used on him were senbon" explained Kakashi "They're not used to kill, but they can put the body in a death-like state if they hit certain parts of the body. We have come to the conclusion that the hunter nin works with Zabuza"

Tazuna was stunned by the revelation. He had thought that they had gotten rid of the Kiri shinobi, but now he knew he would come back to finish his job once and for all.

"It takes some days to fully recover from that, though, so we have time to get ready" said the masked man "I have already started to train my students and I'm sure they will be able to help in the coming fight"

"I hope you're right about that or else this country is doomed" said the builder, not looking as excited as he looked earlier

* * *

The next morning, the young couple was sleeping peacefully, still on the same position as the night before, and they didn't notice a girl who didn't look that much older than them coming to pick some herbs that grew on the clearing.

After a while, Naruto started to stir and it was then that he noticed a smell that didn't belong to either him or Sakura. When he opened his eyes, he saw a beautiful girl with raven hair and slim features wearing a pink kimono. She was smiling as she picked herbs and then store them into a basket.

"**Don't be fooled by the looks, kit. He's the hunter nin that saved Zabuza"** said Kyuubi confusing Naruto

"_What do you mean by he?"_ asked Naruto _"Isn't it she?"_

"**Not really. He doesn't smell like a female"** replied Kyuubi **"Try to ask him why he is here. I'm sure we will be able to find some answers"**

Naruto carefully picked up Sakura and laid her against the tree softly not to wake her up before walking over to the female-looking boy.

"What are those herbs for?" he asked while walking up to him

"These are medical herbs. My precious person was hurt in an attack and he needs these to recover" said the boy "I take it she is your precious person?"

"_So he wants to heal Zabuza" _"Yeah, she is the most precious out of all, but I have more, though" said the blonde "I will make sure that nothing bad ever happens to her or the people I care about"

"So I see you have almost the same goals as me" he said "My goal is to make my father figure happy and always follow him"

"I think we never introduced ourselves" said Naruto with a hand behind his head "My name is Naruto"

"I'm Haku" he answered smiling before suddenly standing up "I'm sorry, Naruto, but I have to deliver these herbs"

"It's okay" said Naruto and just as Haku was leaving the clearing, he shouted "Tell Zabuza we're waiting for him!"

Haku visibly flinched before walking away.

Naruto walked back to his pink haired angel and gently shook her "Sakura-chan, time to wake up"

She started to squirm and stir before she opened her eyes and yawned. She rubbed her eyes and noticed it was morning already.

"Thank you for waking me up, Naruto-kun" she said while standing up

"I think we should get going or we'll miss breakfast" said Naruto "Race you there!"

"No fair! I just woke up" shouted Sakura before running

* * *

Kakashi and Sasuke were already sitting at the table waiting for their breakfast, which Tsunami was cooking. Tazuna had left to the bridge come minutes before to check how it was coming along. Everyone was minding their own business before the door opened and a laughing Sakura and Naruto came in.

"Nice of you to join us" mocked Kakashi

Both teens blushed before sitting down on the table

"Sorry, Kakashi-sensei" both of them said simultaneously

Naruto turned serious before looking at Kakashi "Sensei, I met the hunter nin earlier today"

"I didn't notice" said Sakura

"I woke up earlier than you and I didn't want to disturb your sleep, so I didn't wake you up" replied the blonde

"What was he doing there?" asked Kakashi

"He was picking some medical herbs. He said they were for his precious person and I put two and two together, so it means they're for Zabuza" explained Naruto

"How do you know he was the same person as the hunter nin we saw?" asked Sasuke

"He had the same smell and voice" answered Naruto "He also flinched when I mentioned Zabuza"

"Why didn't you attack him then?" shouted Sasuke

"Because I won't attack anyone out of nowhere!" shouted back Naruto. Sasuke looked like he wanted to say something, but refrained from doing so because of the look Kakashi gave him

"_Just like his father" _thought Kakashi "Well, then I guess we better step up our training"

"It can wait until you're done with breakfast, though" said Tsunami giving them a plate each

* * *

It had been a week since they started their training and results could already be seen. The three genin were doing fine in their Nature Manipulation training, Sakura being the most advanced due to her near perfect chakra control. Kakashi had told Naruto about a way to speed up his training while using his favorite jutsu, the Kage bunshin. Naruto had been extremely happy to know that his clones could be used that way for his training and that allowed him to learn a decent amount of jutsus that Kakashi taught him. He used at least a hundred clones at the time and once made progress, the clone dispelled itself.

Sasuke had asked Naruto to teach him his signature move and Naruto agreed to teach both Sasuke and Sakura, but they were only able to do three and one respectively due to their low chakra capacity, so Kakashi promised to work on expanding them when they got back to Konoha. Sasuke and Sakura had also learned some jutsus of their own elements and worked on perfecting them. Kakashi was proud at their progress.

* * *

After some days, everyone woke up early and left to the bridge along with Tazuna, as a break from training, but they left Naruto behind because he slept in. Naruto woke up around noon due to a scream that came from downstairs. He created a clone and sent it downstairs while the real him jumped out from the window and went to the front door.

When the clone arrived at the scene, he found two men carrying swords over their shoulders surrounding Tsunami.

"Do whatever you want with me but don't lay a finger on my son!" shouted Tsunami

Inari had tears freely flowing from his eyes. He picked up a bat and threatened them. It was that moment that Naruto decided to make himself known. The clone jumped in front of Tsunami with a kunai drawn and got into a stance. The thugs just laughed.

"Do you really think a kid will beat us?" mocked one of them. Naruto smirked

"I would watch out if I were you" said the clone before kicking one of the man's legs faster than anyone could see. The man fell and it wasn't long before the other one fell too. Inari and Tsunami couldn't believe their eyes. There were two Narutos standing next to the knocked out men.

"H-how are th-there two of you?" asked Tsunami

"This is a jutsu" said the real Naruto before dispelling his clone

Inari was trying his best not to cry, but he was failing miserably. Naruto noticed

"You have to be brave for your mom" he said with a hand on top of Inari's head

"N-Naruto-nii-san…" said Inari before wiping his eyes

"I got to go" said Naruto "I have a feeling that my team needs me"

Naruto rushed as fast as his legs could take him towards the bridge. He had a feeling something was going to happen, so he wanted to get there ASAP to make sure his Sakura-chan was ok.

"**Kit, I think Zabuza has decided to come back" **said Kyuubi **"I can sense more humidity coming from the area where the bridge is located, so that means he already made his appearance"**

"_I hope I make it in time"_ thought Naruto

* * *

Some minutes earlier, the other members of Team 7 were watching as the builders worked to finish the bridge that would grant them economic benefits. The younger members of the team were bored, wishing they spent that day training, but they had the feeling something interesting would happen. Boy, were they right.

Mist suddenly started to cover the entire bridge and thuds could be heard. They belonged to the bodies of the workers, who had senbon on their necks, knocked out. Tazuna managed to make it to where the ninjas were just in time before he got struck with one. They got into position, wanting to get this over with as soon as possible.

Zabuza walked into their line of view, along with the hunter nin they now knew as Haku.

"Haku, you take care of the brats" said Zabuza "I got something to settle with Kakashi"

"Hai, Zabuza-sama" said Haku

"Sakura, you guard Tazuna-san. Sasuke, you get Haku" said Kakashi before taking out a kunai

"Hai" said both teens

Sasuke rushed at the masked shinobi, making hand seals incredibly fast. Haku just stood there, waiting for Sasuke to make the first move.

"Katon: Housenka no jutsu" shouted Sasuke before a large number of small fireballs flew from his mouth towards Haku, who simply disappeared. Sasuke was stunned at the speed. He didn't know his opponent could be so fast and it would cost him.

"Sasuke, behind you!" shouted Sakura to her teammate. When he noticed, it was too late. Haku kicked him on the back and sent his body flying to the other side of the bridge. Sasuke stood up soon after falling, refusing to lose after a single kick.

He dashed towards Haku, kunai drawn, and attempted to stab him, but Haku grabbed his wrist before the blade connected with his skin.

"You can't make any jutsus like this" said Sasuke smirking

Haku smirked back behind his mask. He had him "Who says I can't?"

Sasuke's eyes widened as he saw Haku doing some one-handed hand seals.

"Hyouton: Sensatsu suisho" said Haku. Water rose from the puddle where they were standing. Their shape changed into needles and they froze. The Uchiha let go of the masked shinobi and jumped back. The needles flew towards him and he tried to do the hand seals for his Goukakyuu, but the needles were too fast. They impaled themselves on his body, but he refused to acknowledge the sting of pain he felt through his body.

* * *

Back with Kakashi, he wasn't faring any better. Both he and Zabuza had some wounds, but they couldn't get distracted or the other one would use up the opportunity to their advantage.

"Looks like Haku is going to finish with your student soon" Zabuza smirked

"_Damn it Naruto, where are you"_ thought Kakashi "Don't get so cocky, Zabuza. Sasuke is just warming up"

"Yeah, right" mocked Zabuza "Then why does he have so many wounds while Haku has none?"

Kakashi just continued the fight.

* * *

Sakura was getting worried about her teammate. It looked like he was struggling to keep up, yet he wouldn't admit it. She also was worried about her boyfriend. What was taking him so long?

"_C'mon, Naruto-kun, you have to get here fast! Sasuke needs your help!" _thought Sakura

* * *

Haku did a series of hand seals before mirrors surrounded Sasuke. Haku appeared on one of them and looked at Sasuke.

"How do you like my ice mirrors?" asked Haku "Don't even bother trying your fire jutsus. This is made from my Kekkei Genkai, so it won't work"

Sasuke ignored him as he rushed to the mirror where Haku was. He punched as hard as he could, but it was no use. It didn't even crack and Haku had disappeared from it. He kept trying multiple times, combining his fire techniques along with brute force, but nothing seemed to work.

He was pissed off and frustrated. Nothing he did seemed to work. Haku decided it was time to hit back, so he started to move between the mirrors and throw senbon to Sasuke. Some of them managed to hit, but he blocked and dodged some. Sasuke felt something on his eyes. Like they had changed, yet he didn't know what happened. He could see the next wave of senbon Haku threw and it was then that he noticed what had changed. He had unlocked his Sharingan. He smirked. He could now follow Haku's needles. But what he hadn't expected was that Haku would change his tactics. He felt a fist connect to his cheek and he flew onto a mirror. It was too fast, even for his newly awakened Sharingan.

Out of nowhere, a black and yellow blur rushed next to Sakura and she smiled, recognizing it. The blur continued until it reached the mirrors and the one he connected with, shattered. When it stopped, the blur turned out to be Naruto. The mirror that had just shattered reformed itself, locking Naruto inside along with Sasuke.

"Thought you would need some help, teme" said Naruto helping Sasuke up to his feet

"Just in time, dobe" smirked Sasuke

Haku was amazed at the sheer strength Naruto displayed. He couldn't believe this was the same teen he had met some time ago. He also couldn't believe someone so young was so strong. It was the first time someone had actually destroyed one of his mirrors. He took a large number of senbon with both of his hands and threw them to Naruto.

Sasuke noticed and pushed Naruto out of the way, receiving the hit himself. Naruto was shocked to see that Sasuke took the hit for him. It looked like Sasuke would be unable to continue to fight.

"Dobe, if I don't make it, I want you to promise me that you will kill my brother" said Sasuke

"**Don't worry about him, kit, it's not enough to kill someone and his heartbeat is still strong. He won't die" **said Kyuubi **"But tell him you will do it. It will help your friendship with him if you do"**

"I will, teme, but don't worry. I will take care of Haku and I will take you back to a hospital" said Naruto

"Don't worry about me, dobe. It's too late for me" said Sasuke as he fell down unconscious

Naruto moved his body to the side, as Haku watched. Haku knew Sasuke would live, as he didn't like killing people, but he wasn't aware Naruto also did.

"_Kyuubi, can I use you chakra?" _asked Naruto

"**Sure, kit. But don't cripple him. Remember the plan your sensei came up with" **said Kyuubi

Haku nearly pissed his pants when red chakra started to swirl around Naruto as his features became more animalistic. His nails grew like claws, his teeth became as sharp as razors, his eyes turned red with slits and his whiskers, normally three thin lines on each side of his face, deepened giving him a more feral look. The chakra was so powerful, it reached Kakashi's and Zabuza's fight, temporarily stopping it.

Kakashi and Sakura didn't worry about it, as they knew about the relationship between Kyuubi and Naruto, but Tazuna, Haku and Zabuza were scared. They had never felt anything so strong in all their lives and Tazuna, being a civilian, nearly fainted.

Naruto let out a loud howl and shattered all the mirrors with the vibrations that came from it. Haku barely managed to jump out before he too was killed along with his mirrors. He wasn't fast enough to dodge a punch that hit him on his cheek, breaking his mask. His face could now be seen.

"Did you miss me, Haku?" asked Naruto

"I could ask you the same thing, Naruto-san" said Haku spitting some blood from the hit. Naruto was careful not to put so much chakra as to break his jaw.

Naruto didn't say anything; he just gave him a punch on the gut that left poor Haku with no air. The boy fell to the floor, unconscious.

* * *

On Kakashi's and Zabuza's fight, Kakashi decided to mock Zabuza.

"Looks like Naruto is going to finish with Haku soon" Kakashi smirked

Just before Zabuza replied, a voice was heard from the other side of the bridge

"Zabuza, I'm disappointed. I thought you could take care of this, but you proved me wrong" said a short man in a suit with long hair and sunglasses, behind who were at least a hundred men all with different kinds of weapons "I don't have any further need for you. Kill him"

"Kakashi, since my employer technically fired me, you're no longer my enemy" said Zabuza

"Fair enough" said Kakashi without lowering his guard "Truce?"

"Yeah" said a smirking Zabuza "Just leave the short bastard to me"

The thugs Gato brought with him wasted no time in surrounding them, ready to go for the kill.

* * *

Naruto had taken Sasuke and Haku back to where Sakura was and laid them on the floor. Both Naruto and Sakura were really cautious to remove the impaled senbon from Sasuke's body, as not to accidentally hurt him. Haku was slowly regaining consciousness and took in his surroundings. He was lying on the floor next to the bridge builder he was sent to kill. He looked towards where his father figure had been fighting and did it just in time to see Kakashi and Zabuza nod to each other before disappearing on blurs, while bodies fell to the floor.

"We're almost done, Naruto-kun" said Sakura

Naruto only nodded and noticed that Haku had already awakened "Seems like sensei and Zabuza are working together now"

"Those are Gato's thugs" said Haku just above a whisper, but it was enough to be heard by Naruto

"Gato, huh?" said Naruto "I bet he won't see another day, then"

As the last bodies fell, Kakashi stopped to catch his breath while Zabuza lifted Gato off the ground with one hand by his neck

"I think I've had enough of you" said Zabuza glaring at the cowering man "But it wouldn't be any fun to just strangle you. How do you wish to die?"

Gato looked like he had pissed his pants. He was at Zabuza's mercy, not that he would have any on him, though.

"I'll pay you whatever you want" said Gato between gasps, trying desperately to survive "Just say an amount and I'll give it to you!"

"Why should I trust you?" asked Zabuza smirking through his bandages before throwing the businessman like he was a toy. The man crawled backwards in fear until he reached the end of the bridge. He would have fallen if not for Zabuza, who now had a kunai. He pulled him up and while he was in midair, he stabbed Gato on his heart, ending his life. The body of the tyrant fell on the bridge's border before Zabuza kicked it and the corpse fell to the water. That was the end of Gato.

Zabuza started to walk back to where Haku was; intending on leaving now that he had nothing to do, but Kakashi had something else in mind.

"Zabuza" said the cyclops, getting the other man's attention "I take it you have nowhere to go to?"

"Yeah, what about it?" asked Zabuza, not getting where Kakashi was going with this

"Would you like to come back to Konoha with us?" asked Kakashi shocking both Haku and Zabuza. He and his team had discussed this one day during their training and had already gotten the Hokage's authorization through Pakkun, who Kakashi sent.

"Like a nuke-nin would be accepted on your village" said Zabuza "I mean I would accept, but I know your Hokage wouldn't be so forgiving on who tried to kill a client"

"Actually, you're wrong there" said Kakashi with his typical eye smile "Hokage-sama already accepted. So, what do you say? Do you come with us, or not?"

Zabuza turned to Haku asking for his opinion on the matter but knew that in the end, it would be no use as Haku went wherever he did. With a sigh, he made his decision.

"Fine, we're going with you" said Zabuza "I think it's time to settle down somewhere"

Tazuna, who had seen the one who had oppressed his people for so long being killed, was finally relieved to see that his country would prosper. Before he could thank them, the ground started to shake as a large group of people, lead by a small kid they recognized as Inari, ran towards them all with makeshift weapons. They looked shocked when they saw the large amount of dead bodies, having expected that it would be them who would deal with the threat. They were relieved, nonetheless, to see that they were free at last.

The people went towards the mess the shinobi had made in their fight, and started to clean it up.

"Why don't we head back?" asked Tazuna, who was now next to Inari "I think a nice lunch would be good after the fight"

"Yeah! That sounds good" said Naruto, immediately cheering up. Sakura nodded and the others agreed, too. Kakashi picked Sasuke's unconscious body up while Zabuza picked Haku's beaten one, and they started to make their way towards Tazuna's house.

* * *

Some days later, Team 7 along with Zabuza and Haku stood at the end of the recently finished bridge accompanied by most of the people of Wave on their side with Tazuna, Inari and Tsunami at the front.

"Thank you for everything" said Tazuna "I promise I will send the money to cover the A-rank mission once we're able to do so"

"I'm sure Hokage-sama would like to hear that" said Kakashi

"Naruto-nii-san…" said Inari struggling to hold his tears. Naruto found himself with the same problem

"It's ok to cry if you want to…" said Naruto

"But I don't really want to cry" said Inari. His face said the opposite, though "Do you?"

"No, I'm fine" answered the blonde

"Hey, Kakashi" said Zabuza "Shouldn't we get going?"

"Yeah" replied Kakashi casually "Let's go, guys"

The people there shouted their thanks to their saviors along with good byes.

Once they had left, Tazuna realized they had yet to name the bridge

"Let's call it The Great Naruto Bridge, in honor of the one who changed us for the better!" shouted Tazuna as everyone cheered, approving of the name.

* * *

**R&R!**


	10. Chapter 10

**I'm really, really, really, really sorry I took this long to update. It's just that I got a job to which I have to go straight from school so I can have enough money to get my girlfriend a nice birthday present. My shift ends at 8:30 and as soon as I get home, I have to start doing my homework, so I have almost no time to update. From now on, my updates may take longer, but don't worry, I won't stop writing. I'll balance my time to finish this story. Anyways, here's chapter 10 and sorry it's so short, but it's like a transition between arcs, so that's why it's so short compared to other chapters. **

"Normal speech"

_"Thoughts"_

_**"**__Inner Sakura"_

**"Kyuubi"**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**_****__  
_

* * *

The way back home was much faster as there were only shinobi traveling. They made it in less than half the time they did when they went to wave. During the trip, Team 7, Zabuza and Haku got to know about each other's past. They were all shocked to learn that most of them shared similar pain sometime, either losing someone important or not having them at all.

Zabuza and Haku were also told that the chakra Naruto released while on the bridge was Kyuubi's and that he was its host. They were surprised but said that they didn't look at him any different. They learned about how life was in Konoha and both were eager to get there, even Zabuza.

After some hours, the gigantic gates of the village were on sight and Team 7 managed to recognize the three figures standing next to the traffic control shack. They were Minato, Jiraiya and the Sandaime. Naruto had mentioned that he was the Yondaime's son, but both ex-Kiri nin didn't expect to be welcomed by three shinobi who were recognized as some of the most powerful to ever live.

"Hey dad" said Naruto grinning "Sup, Ero-sennin, Ojii-san"

"Hi Minato, Ero-sennin, Hokage-sama" said Sakura as Jiraiya wailed at being disrespected by two genin while the others laughed at him.

"Hey, kids" said Minato "You must be Haku and Zabuza"

"Yeah, I'm Zabuza and this is Haku" said Zabuza motioning to his surrogate son

"Alright then, please come with me to my office so we can fill in the required paperwork" said Sarutobi "Kakashi, you come as well so you can leave your report"

"Hai, Hokage-sama" said Kakashi "Guys, we're taking a break from missions for a couple of days, so just relax"

"Naruto, your mom is waiting for you at home, so don't make her wait so long" said Minato "She misses you"

"Alright" said Naruto to his dad, who was leaving with Jiraiya to make sure he didn't go peek on the women's hot springs.

"I guess we're free now" said Sasuke

"Yeah" replied Naruto "What now?"

"I'm going home" said Sasuke "I just want to relax for a while"

Naruto and Sakura looked at him like he had grown a second head, which made him a little uneasy "What?" he asked

"Who are you and what did you do with Sasuke?" asked Sakura

"What do you mean?" he asked

"Whenever we get a break, you train" said Naruto "It's like an unwritten law. You would never want to relax"

"Even I need a break" said Sasuke before turning around and walking away, but not without a little wave.

Naruto and Sakura grinned to each other "He's opening up" said Naruto

"Slow, but steady" said Sakura. It was true. Sasuke had been talking more during the course of their last mission and became more expressive. The unemotional shell he had created was slowly shattering and he was becoming who he was before the massacre.

They started to walk aimlessly while holding hands, until Sakura yawned cutely while leaning onto Naruto's shoulder making him chuckle. She shot him a playful glare "What?"

"You look like you want to drop on your bed and not wake up until tomorrow" said Naruto

"Well, that's exactly what I want" said Sakura

"Then I'll walk you home" said Naruto kissing the top of her head after she nodded

Halfway there, Naruto spotted Kiba, Shikamaru and Chouji going out of the BBQ restaurant that Team 10 goes to quite often. They were hoping to go by unnoticed, but their pleas were not answered.

"Oi, Naruto!" shouted Kiba, making Naruto and Sakura groan after having their time together interrupted

"Hey, Kiba, Shika, Chouji" nodded Naruto while walking towards them with Sakura

"Wait, what are you doing with Sakura?" asked Kiba confused "Didn't she like Sasuke?"

"You didn't tell him?" asked Naruto to Shikamaru and Chouji

"It was too troublesome" answered Shikamaru shrugging

"Forgot when I opened my chips" said Chouji munching his chips

"Tell me what?" asked Kiba while Akamaru barked, clearly annoyed to be left out of it

"Well, Sakura-chan and I are dating and have been for a few weeks" answered Naruto

"I would never have expected her to like you, ya know?" said Kiba

"Hey, people change" said Sakura shrugging

"Anyway, Naruto, I believe you wanted to tell us something important a couple of weeks ago, but you never showed up" said Shikamaru "It was troublesome to get there for nothing"

"Ehhh, sorry, guys" said Naruto "But we had a mission assigned to us and had to leave the village"

"We just got back a while ago" finished Sakura, shocking the other three genin that they had already gone on a mission that required leaving the village.

"Anyway, Naruto" said Kiba "We want to know what you wanted to tell us and there's also something we have to tell you"

"Alright" said Naruto "Just give me half an hour. I got to take Sakura-chan home"

"It's alright. Go with them, I don't mind" said Sakura smiling at him "Besides, I think I can manage to get home on my own"

"Fine then" said Naruto "See you tomorrow?"

"Sure" answered Sakura before kissing him "Bye, I love you"

"I love you too" Naruto kissed her again before she then turned around and resumed her walk home. Neither had noticed the expressions of the other three teens standing there.

"Troublesome" muttered Shikamaru "Let's just go to the park we used to go to when we were kids"

"Alright, but I don't have much time" said Naruto "My dad said mom was waiting for me and she's scary when she's mad"

"Let's get going, then" said Kiba "I believe all of us know what happens when our moms get angry"

They shivered before nodding and starting their way to the park

* * *

At the Hokage's office, Zabuza and Haku had signed the papers that classified them as Konohagakure villagers and had been given a two room apartment to live in until they could move somewhere else. Sarutobi had also said that, while Zabuza was obviously above jounin rank due to him being a former member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, Haku had to be tested for his rank. They had sworn loyalty to Konoha and ensured that if by any chance Konoha went to war against Kiri, they would not betray them. Sarutobi was pleased to see they had gotten their hands on such strong allies and not once did he regret his decision.

After the two had left, Kakashi was going to report the outcome of the mission, but the Hokage stopped him.

"Now, Kakashi, I don't really think it's necessary for you to say anything else about your mission" said the old leader

"Then why did you call me here, Hokage-sama?" asked a very confused Kakashi

"I want to know what your thoughts are about your students' progress" replied the Hokage

"I'm really proud of them" said Kakashi "Over the time we spent in Wave, I taught them jutsus based on their element, which they learned fast"

"I see" Sarutobi smiled "How strong would you say they are?"

"I believe they are able to take down chunin easily" said Kakashi "Their teamwork is really good as is their individual strength"

"So, would you say they're ready for the chunin exams?" asked Sarutobi with a smirk

"Yeah, I believe they can easily manage there" said Kakashi "But the other village's shinobi will start to come in around two weeks, so why are you asking this so early?"

"Because earlier today, I was talking to Minato and Jiraiya and we all agreed that your students had the potential to become even stronger than the Sannin with the right training"

"Yeah, I was able to see that during their training" said Kakashi

"I want your team to stop taking missions and focus entirely on training" said Sarutobi "They already passed the requirements"

"Hai, Hokage-sama" said Kakashi "Starting tomorrow, I will train them everyday"

"Very well" said the elder "You are dismissed"

* * *

The four friends arrived at the park after some time and sat down near the swings they used all those years ago. No one talked for a while and Kiba decided to break the silence.

"Naruto, what did you want to tell us?" he said

"It's about what I have sealed inside me" said the blonde "I wanted to tell you before everyone knew, but the announcement was made and I had to leave"

"Heh, funny thing that's related to what we wanted to tell you" said Chouji

Naruto then started to get a little worried because he was afraid of what they would say and he fidgeted slightly, but Shikamaru managed to notice, being the observant guy he is.

"Don't worry, Naruto" said the lazy boy "What we wanted to tell you is that we are your friends no matter what you have inside"

"Yeah, that and that we're happy that you finally have parents" said Chouji

"Thank you, guys" said Naruto trying his best not to cry, but he failed and they laughed "Sorry, but I got to leave or my mom will kill me"

"Yeah, same with me" muttered Shikamaru "Troublesome woman"

* * *

For the two next days, Team 7 were able to just kick back and relax after their long mission. Sasuke surprisingly didn't train. Naruto and Sakura had spent both days together since early in the morning until almost midnight. Naruto had shown Sakura his house and after he remembered that his room was still decorated as a guest room, she offered to help him customize it.

The day after their break was over, they were supposed to meet at the bridge for their usual missions and they arrived two hours late, expecting their sensei to be two and a half hours late as always, but they found Kakashi already waiting for them and by the looks of it, he had been there for a while.

"You guys are late" said the jounin simply without looking at them "Save the excuses. I have something really important I need to ask you"

"What is it?" asked Sakura, the three of them confused at seeing their sensei that serious

"As you may know, the Chunin Exams are coming soon" said Kakashi, waiting for them to nod before continuing "By request of Hokage-sama, we will spend the time until the exam training. That is, if you accept to take part in them"

The three genin looked at each other, silently communicating, and then at Kakashi.

"We accept" said Sasuke

"Yeah, we wouldn't pass up the opportunity to advance in the ranks" said Sakura

"Besides, if I become a chunin, I'll be a step closer to the Hokage!" said Naruto

"Alright, then we will start training right away" said Kakashi

* * *

**A/N: Next chapter will have a time skip to the start of the chunin exams**

**R&R**


	11. Chapter 11

**Here's chapter 11. Enjoy!**

"Normal speech"

_"Thoughts"_

_**"**__Inner Sakura"_

**"Kyuubi"**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**_****__  
_

* * *

The two weeks passed and Kakashi considered his students would be able to pass the exams. He had told them they were at the level of a chunin. Their teamwork had become almost flawless, managing to make Kakashi stop reading while on spars and focus on the fight. Zabuza and Haku sometimes joined them during their training and both had the same impression as Kakashi. Zabuza had been given the rank of jounin while Haku had become a chunin.

They had learned new jutsus, they had improved their taijutsu and they were also able to immediately detect genjutsu. Sakura and Sasuke had increased their chakra reserves and Naruto had gotten more control over his. All in all, they were probably the strongest genin team to take the exam.

So, here they were, walking towards the academy, where the registration for the exams would take place. They had been told to go to room 302, so that's where they were headed to. While they walked, Naruto remembered their encounter with the Suna shinobis a few days ago, eager to fight them during the exams. They were one of the few teams that they thought that might advance to chunin. Kyuubi had told Naruto that the redhead was the host of the Ichibi Bijuu, Shukaku, and he passed that information to his team once they left.

When they reached the second floor, they saw a crowd of fellow genin gathered in front of a door that was labeled as 302, where two other teens were standing. A kid with a weird haircut and a green spandex suit was lying on the floor with a girl next to him, glaring at the two in front of the door.

"If you are that weak, then leave while you still can. This exam is not for weaklings" said one of them, who had a bandage on his nose

Team 7 had noticed the genjutsu used on the door label, but kept quiet about it, to figure out what kind of people would take the exam, but when Sasuke heard the last part of the guy's statement, he lost his temper and rushed to kick him, the other ninja doing the same. Their legs never touched each other, though, as the green clad boy who had been on the ground appeared out of nowhere and blocked their kicks.

"It is unyouthful to fight fellow Konoha shinobi within the village" he said, with his face looking towards the floor

"I thought you wanted to keep your abilities a secret" said another boy with long brown hair and white eyes

"My youthful body reacted on his own" said the boy in green

"Let's get going, then. Lee, Ten Ten" said the long haired boy, walking towards the stairs

"Hai" said the girl known as Ten Ten, following him

"Oi, what's your name!" shouted Naruto

"I believe it is polite to say your name first before asking for mine" he said stopping and looking over his shoulder

"Alright, then. I'm Namikaze Naruto" said the blonde

"Hyuuga Neji" he said before leaving

"Naruto, Sakura, we should get going too" said Sasuke

"Yeah, after all the exams are upstairs" said Sakura before they walked away

* * *

When they crossed what seemed to be an indoor training field, they saw Lee standing there.

"I believe you are Uchiha Sasuke" said Lee

"And what of it" said Sasuke, not wanting to waste any time

"I wish to test my power against the survivor of one of the strongest clans from Konoha" said Lee "I warn you, though, I am the strongest genin of this village"

The three members of Team 7 had to suppress their laugh at that, knowing full well that any of them could finish him off rather fast. Naruto and Sasuke exchanged glances, silently agreeing on something, before the Uchiha looked back at Lee.

"I will fight you if you manage to beat Naruto first" said a smirking raven haired teen

Lee's personality changed drastically when he looked at Sakura, annoying both her and her boyfriend. His eyes were replaced by hearts and a smile made its way to his face.

"Haruno Sakura, the most youthfully beautiful girl in Konoha, will you be my girlfriend?" he asked bluntly. Naruto glared at him with the most hate anyone had seen, while Sakura was creeping out.

"Why would I go out with YOU?" said Sakura rushing behind his boyfriend shivering "Your eyebrows are huge and that… that hairstyle! What's up with the bowl cut? Besides I already have someone"

"What! Who could be more youthful than me!" asked Lee

"Naruto-kun, can you shut him up?" said Sakura "He's really creeping me up"

"My pleasure" said Naruto, cracking his knuckles

"Ohhh, I see. I have to fight for the heart of Sakura-chan" said Lee, not aware that he was going to get his ass kicked

Naruto rushed towards him with a speed that not even Lee himself was able to achieve and kneed his stomach, bringing him to the floor. He then grabbed the scruff of Lee's suit and brought him close to his face.

"You will NEVER ask Sakura-chan out again" he said in the coldest voice he had ever used. No one messed with his Sakura-chan if he could help it "Understood?"

"H-hai" Lee managed to whisper before Naruto dropped him to the ground

Out of nowhere, an older guy, who looked almost like a replica of Lee, appeared in a puff of smoke.

"Lee, is my most youthful student ok?" asked the man, rushing towards Lee and hugging him

"Hai, Gai-sensei!" shouted Lee, hugging him back while crying

Suddenly, the scenery before them changed to a beach with crashing waves and a sunset in the distance.

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

Not being able to witness this anymore, Naruto decided he should end it.

"More like Gay-sensei to me…" he whispered to Sakura and Sasuke, making them crack up

Lee wanted to kill him for insulting his sensei, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"You are Kakashi's students, right?" asked Gai

"Yeah, you know him?" asked Sakura

"Why yes! He is my eternal rival!" shouted Gai while making a nice guy pose

The three genin sweat dropped at the overly enthusiastic man.

"Alright, then" said Sasuke, breaking the awkward silence in which his team had fallen "I think we have an exam to attend to"

And without saying anything else, they left.

* * *

When they reached the correct door, they found Kakashi waiting for them leaning against the wall.

"Once you go in, you can't get out" he simply stated

"We know" said Naruto

"Alright, then. See you guys when this is over" said Kakashi disappearing in a puff of smoke

"He didn't even wished us good luck" said Sakura

"It's because we don't need it, Sakura-chan" said Naruto holding her hand. She just smiled at him.

Sasuke took a deep breath and opened the door. Inside were several genin from different villages sitting on chairs. They easily found the rest of their graduating class and went towards them.

Ino instantly saw Sasuke and rushed to hug him. When he groaned, Naruto and Sakura laughed.

"Ino, would you mind letting me go?" said Sasuke

"But Sasuke-kun…" she whined

"Listen, Ino, I don't like you like that so please for your sake move on" he said. Ino shed a few tears and left with a sad smile, making him sigh. Breaking her heart was not something he had wanted to do, but Sakura had told him not to lead her best friend on or she would personally hurt him.

The other genin were shocked to see Sasuke act like that, since when they were in the academy, he always told his fan girls that they were annoying. Also, he never said that much. Another thing that Shino and Hinata noticed was that Sakura didn't even get mad when Ino hugged Sasuke. Their rivalry was common knowledge for them, as was their crush on Sasuke. The reason they were confused was because they were the only ones that didn't know about Naruto's and Sakura's relationship.

Sakura whispered something on Naruto's ear and he nodded. She then went towards Hinata while he went towards Shino. Hinata was confused as to why Sakura wanted to talk to her alone, since they weren't really close.

"Listen, Hinata, I know you have a crush on Naruto-kun" said the pinkette, shocking Hinata on her use of the suffix

"I-I-I do, b-but please don't tell him" she said softly, her cheeks turning a light pink

"Hinata, he already knows" said Sakura softly "But that's not what I wanted to tell you"

"T-then what is it?" asked Hinata

"Naruto-kun and I are together" said Sakura. Hinata was speechless as her heart was breaking. She had never expected Sakura to like Naruto, but they were teammates after all. A lone tear rolled down Hinata's cheek.

"B-b-but d-didn't you like Sasuke-san?" she asked, trying to be strong

"I used to believe I did, but what I liked was what I thought he was. Everything I thought Sasuke would be like, Naruto already was" said Sakura "I'm really sorry to be the one to tell this to you, but there are other people out there"

Hinata didn't say anything and it worried Sakura. The lavender haired girl was a really fragile one, and to find out that the one you loved was with another, by her nonetheless, really hurt her. Hinata decided to leave towards where Kiba was and silently stood next to him.

Naruto had also told Shino about his relationship with Sakura and he had asked the bug user to be there for Hinata, because, while he didn't love her like he loved Sakura, he did as a sibling. He considered Hinata to be like a little sister to him, so he didn't want to see her hurt. He also asked him to tell Kiba to comfort her, both of them aware of the boy's crush on the Hyuuga heiress.

When Naruto and Sakura finished their respective conversations, they let out a sigh. Just when they were going to talk to each other, a silver haired teen with round glasses and purple clothes walked up to them.

"You know, you shouldn't be making such a ruckus here. Everyone's been looking at your little group reunion and trust me, they're not too friendly" said the teen

"And who are you?" asked Kiba eyeing him suspiciously

"My name's Yakushi Kabuto" he said "I suggest you keep a low profile if you want to survive. This is my seventh time in four years taking this exam, so I know better than anyone what to do and what not"

"Doesn't that mean that he just sucks?" Naruto whispered to Sakura sweat dropping

"Anyway, I've collected info on the participants of this exam. Is there anyone in particular that you wish to know about?" asked Kabuto taking out a deck of cards

"Sabaku no Gaara" said Naruto seriously

"Alright" he said taking out a card, where a picture of Gaara appeared along with information "Sabaku no Gaara from Sunagakure no Sato. This is his first time on the exams and he has completed a total of nine missions, eight C-ranks and one B-rank. He managed to return from them unscathed"

All but Team 7 shivered in fear, not wanting to get in his way, but the members of Team 7 were smirking, eager to test his strength.

The team from Otogakure got annoyed by all of them, so they decided to shut them up. The one with the bandaged face stealthily ran towards Kabuto, wanting to take him by surprise, but just as he was going to land the hit, he was thrown backwards. When he got up, he saw a blonde standing where he had aimed not even winded by the hit.

Before they could say anything, the doors blasted forward, completely destroyed, and in came a tall man wearing a bandana above his scarred face. He wore a black trench coat and he walked with his hands behind his back. His face had a look that said I dare you to do anything and it frightened everyone there. Behind him was a decent amount of chunin who would serve as supervisors.

"ALRIGHT MAGGOTS, I AM MORINO IBIKI AND I AM THE PROCTOR FOR THE FIRST EXAM. EVERYONE HAS BEEN GIVEN A NUMBER, SO GO TO THE SEAT WITH THAT NUMBER AND SEAT DOWN" he yelled.

The genin immediately complied, not wanting to upset him. People from the same team were seated far from their teammates. Naruto, however, was unlucky enough to seat next to Hinata, whose heart had just been broken by his girlfriend. Naruto felt extremely awkward sitting next to her, but he managed to hide it. Hinata, however, didn't even acknowledge his presence. The blonde was a little relieved by this, but he was also worried. She was never one to act like that. She was behaving like Sasuke during the academy days. Her eyes held the coldness that came when losing something you loved.

"The first exam is a written test which has nine questions. The tenth one will be given after 45 minutes. There are two rules here. No questions and no cheating. We will add up your whole team's scores to see who passes and who doesn't" he said "One more thing. If one of you is caught cheating five times, your whole team will be disqualified"

Many of them started to feel nervous and felt the pressure of the situation, but made an effort to suppress it. The chunin who were there started to give the tests to everyone.

* * *

Some minutes into the exam, the smarter ones had already figured out the true purpose of the exam. They had to be able to cheat without getting caught. By being able to do it, meant that they would be able to perform spying missions without failing.

Sasuke had already turned on his sharingan and had set his eyes on a boy who was continuously writing and his hands instantly started to copy. Sakura, being the smart one, was answering the questions based on her knowledge, not having any abilities that she could use to cheat. The Hyuugas were using their byakugan to copy the answers.

A large number of genin had been eliminated over the course of the test and the amount of people in the room had been reduced by more than a half. Naruto

Naruto didn't get the purpose until there were only 5 minutes left for the tenth questions, so he immediately put something he came up along with Kakashi during their training to use. He made two hand seals and nine small puffs of smoke appeared on the table. This was something they had developed especially for infiltration missions and since the objective of this was to cheat, this would be a chance to test it out on a real situation. It consisted of a combination of his signature jutsu, the Kage bunshin, and the Henge. His clones had transformed into flies and they took off to different parts of the room.

Soon, he felt one dispel and he rushed to write what it had learned. It was the answer for the fourth question. One by one, the clones dispelled and he managed to finish the written part. He put his pencil down on the table and let out a sigh. During the entire duration of the exam, Hinata had not even once bothered to do so much as to spare him a glance. He set his mind to talk to her after this was over and find out why she acted like that.

"Time's up!" yelled Ibiki "Everyone put your pencils down!"

"I will now give the tenth question, but before that, you can choose whether to answer it or not. If you choose not to, your whole team will be disqualified and you will be able to take the exams the next time. However, if you decide to answer and do it wrong, you will be banned from taking the exams ever again" he said "So, who are the quitters?"

Many raised their hands and left along with their teammates, not wanting to take any chances, and were escorted outside by the chunin. Among the genin who stayed were the rookies, Gai's team, Gaara's team, the team from Oto, Kabuto's team, and a suspiciously looking team from Kusagakure.

"This is your last chance" said Ibiki eyeing them "Do you want to answer the tenth question?"

Suddenly, Naruto stood up, gaining everyone's attention.

"I am not scared of this question! Ask away!" he shouted. The one's who knew him smirked at his outburst; while those who did not shrugged him off as an idiot. Ibiki was slightly amused.

"Then, you all pass" said Ibiki

"WHAT!" shouted a random kid

"The objective of this was to test your abilities on spying under pressure. As chunin, you will go on infiltration missions that require you to be extremely cautious. If you get caught, it means not only that you failed the mission but you may also die" he said "The point of the tenth question was to see how you would handle a difficult decision. There will be times where a decision will mean either the success or failure of your mission"

He would have said more, but he had to jump backwards to avoid the banner that made its way through the window, leaving him before it. It read 'The super sexy second exam proctor, Mitarashi Anko, is here!'. Ibiki walked around it with an annoyed expression.

"Anko, you could have waited until I left" he said

A woman jumped inside and landed next to Ibiki. When most of the male genin saw her, they started to get some dirty thoughts and some got their little friend awake. The girls were hoping to fill out as well as her. Her hair was unusually purple and she had it in a ponytail that went upwards. She wore an open brown trench coat with a transparent mesh shirt underneath it, showing off her body. She wore an orange skirt that ended above her knee and had the standard ninja boots.

"Awww but what fun would it be?" she whined in a childish voice "C'mon, Ibiki, you're not going soft on me, are you? You never allow this much genin to pass your test"

"What can I say? They have potential" said Ibiki

"If you say so…" said Anko "Anyway, maggots, the second stage will be held in Training Grounds #44, also known as The Forest of Death. You have three hours until we start to get your equipment ready. In exactly three hours, the test will start, but you have to be there for some indications I have to give you beforehand, am I clear?"

"Hai" was echoed by the genin before they stood up and left to get their things ready.

* * *

**R&R!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Here's chapter 12. This contains the first half of the second exam. I decided to split this in two since I thought it would be better this way. Enjoy**

"Normal speech"

_"Thoughts"_

_**"**__Inner Sakura"_

**"Kyuubi"**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**_****__  
_

* * *

Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke decided to go and get something to eat before going to the Forest of Death, so they to go to Ichiraku's. However, on the way there, they came across Kushina and Sayaki, who were walking out of the market. When the two women spotted their kids, they went over to them.

"Hey, guys!" shouted Kushina to gain their attention

The three genin turned to the source of the voice and found Naruto's and Sakura's moms.

"Hey, mom!" yelled Naruto grinning "We passed the first test!"

"Really? That's great!" said Sayaki "How about we cook something for you before you leave to the forest?"

"Wait, how do you know about it?" asked Sakura

"Because the second exam has always been that one when the Chunin Exams take place here in Konoha" answered Kushina

Just then, three stomachs grumbled and the teens blushed, making Kushina and Sayaki giggle.

"How about we go home so we can cook something for you?" asked Kushina

"Sure" said Sakura

"Remember that we have to go get our stuff for the exam" said Sasuke

"Alright, then how about you and Sakura go and get your stuff from home?" asked Sayaki "After all we'll be eating in Naruto's, so he doesn't need to go anywhere"

"We'll be there soon" said Sasuke before sprinting to the Uchiha compound

"See you in a while" said Sakura winking at Naruto before jumping on a rooftop and taking off to her house

"So, Naruto, since you are a gentleman, why don't you carry our bags?" asked Kushina with a sweet smile

"_Why me?"_ thought Naruto dropping his head

* * *

Two and a half hours later, the genin who had passed the first stage were standing in front of the massive fence that surrounded Training Grounds #44, also known as The Forest of Death. There was a booth with two people there, but no one knew the reason why they were there. Soon enough, Anko walked up to the front.

"Alright, brats, this is the Forest of Death" she said signaling to the huge forest behind her "You have up to five days to get to the tower located in the center. This isn't as easy as it looks, though. There are vicious creatures inside waiting for some prey to eat and that's not all"

She took out two different scrolls, one with the kanji for Heaven and the other for Earth, before continuing "These are the scrolls of Heaven and Earth. Each team will be given either one of this. In order to pass this stage, you must have both scrolls or you'll be disqualified. There are no rules set on how you get them"

"Heh, I'm not scared" said Naruto before a kunai grazed his cheek, drawing out a little blood. Anko swiftly moved towards him and licked the blood off his cheek. Naruto shivered, not in pleasure but in fear.

"You're not scared, huh?" whispered Anko to his ear "I'll enjoy hearing the screams of the Yondaime's son"

Before Naruto or anyone else could say anything, the neck of one of Kusagakure's ninjas extended towards them, his tongue carrying Anko's kunai. Anko took it, looking at the shinobi suspiciously.

"Thank you, I guess" said Anko

"I'm merely returning the kunai to its owner" said the Kusa nin before his neck retracted

Anko returned to the front and took out a sheet of paper, raising it so everyone could see.

"Now, before you go inside, you need to fill out this consent forms" she said

"What's that for?" asked a random genin

"Oh, this? Once you sign it, Konoha won't be responsible if any of you dies" said Anko smiling at their frightened faces "Everyone take one, fill it out and go with your team towards the booth to pick up a scroll. One team at a time so that the scroll you picked remains a secret"

* * *

Once everyone had signed the forms and received their scrolls, the genin teams moved to the gates where they would be going in. The gates were situated all over the forest and each gate had a team waiting for them to open.

"Let's try and do this fast" said Sasuke

"Yeah, let's kick whoever crosses our path's asses!" shouted Naruto

"We should have some kind of code in case we get separated" said Sakura

"You're right" said Sasuke "Hmmm, anyone got something?"

"I got it" said Sakura, motioning for them to come closer "How about orange red blue yellow pink black?"

"That should work" said Sasuke

"Why not something shorter?" asked Naruto

"Because it would be too easy to guess, dobe" said Sasuke

"Teme" Naruto glared at Sasuke

The doors soon opened, meaning the exam had started. They immediately stopped talking and jumped to the nearest tree branch. They were way faster than most teams; a result of Kakashi's training. They didn't look back even once and they were making great time. They were using a formation they had planned with Kakashi; being Sasuke in the front, since his sharingan could detect any movement, Sakura in the middle and Naruto in the rear.

"Hey, guys!" yelled Naruto "Can we take a break? I need to pee!"

"Fine" said Sasuke "We're far enough, so it shouldn't be a problem. Just hurry"

"Yeah, yeah" said Naruto, hurrying to some bushes.

Sasuke and Sakura took the opportunity to stretch their limbs and rest a bit. Naruto soon emerged from the bushes, but Sasuke simply glared at him before throwing a kunai.

"What the hell Sasuke!" shouted Sakura

"It's not Naruto, Sakura" he simply said, still glaring at 'Naruto' "His cheek doesn't have the scratch on the cheek that Naruto had earlier"

"Huh?" she said confused before she looked at her boyfriend's impersonator "You're right. Besides, he didn't even get the same shade of cerulean of Naruto-kun's eyes"

Sasuke looked at her like she was crazy and she didn't know what she had said "What?"

"You memorized the shade of his eyes?" he asked, forgetting about the impostor

"I wouldn't be a good girlfriend if I didn't" she said crossing her arms. Sasuke just shook his head before a second Naruto appeared from the bushes and looked at his impostor confused.

"What the hell? I didn't make a Kage Bunshin!" yelled Naruto confused

"There's only one way to know who the real one is" said Sasuke "What's the password"

"Orange red blue yellow pink black" said the one without the scratch

"I forgot" said the other sheepishly

Sakura and Sasuke looked at each other and then each threw a kunai at the one they had suspected, which was the one who got the password right.

"Hey, I got it right!" he shouted "Why are you attacking me!"

"Because Naruto wouldn't remember something like that" said Sasuke, making the necessary hand seals for a technique he had learned "Raiton: Kaminari Shibari!"

Lightning started to form around the three kunai that they had thrown, creating three walls made of electricity that made it impossible for him to leave. He tried to break the wall, but it shattered his disguise, revealing an Ame shinobi with a strange device in his mouth.

"If you want to leave, then you will give us your scroll" said Sasuke

"Fine, fine. Here, let me go and I'll give it to you" he said, showing a Heaven scroll

"_Just the one we needed" _thought Sasuke, looking at Naruto, who nodded, before canceling the jutsu

"Ha! Fool! You thought I would give this to you?" he said before trying to run. Naruto knew that was his cue to attack.

"Fuuton: Daitoppa!" he shouted, blowing a gust of wind towards the ninja after doing hand seals. The shinobi hit a tree and fell unconscious. Naruto took the scroll and walked back to where Sasuke and Sakura were.

"Mission complete" he said grinning along with his teammates

"So, now what?" said Sakura

"We head for the tower" said Naruto

* * *

They weren't able to advance too much, as they soon found the same member of Kusa's team that had given back Anko's kunai earlier waiting for them.

"About time you got here" he said smirking

"What do you want?" said Sakura

"Ohhh, don't worry. I'm not here for your scroll" he said "I'm here for something entirely different"

"And what would that be?" asked Naruto glaring at him. The ninja's face got into a sick smile before answering.

"The Uchiha" he stated, making the genin's eyes widen

"What?" shouted Sasuke

"You see, the sharingan is something I've wanted to posses for quite a while but I could never get my hands on it. Then, thanks to the massacre, there were only two sets of Uchiha eyes left. Yours and your brother's. So here I am, trying to take yours"

"Like we will let you take Sasuke's eyes!" shouted Naruto charging at him

The ninja didn't move, and when he did, he punched Naruto on the gut before throwing him over to his teammates.

"You see, I'm on a completely different level than you are" he said "You have no chance in hell of beating me"

"You are just a genin like us" said Sakura

"Truth is, I'm not" he said "And that's all I'm gonna say for now. If you prove to be worthy, I'll tell you my name"

Sasuke just glared and did the hand seals for his favorite jutsu after turning on his sharingan "Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu!"

The fireball managed to reach his opponent, but when the flames died down, his face was melting and it showed someone else's.

"Aww, Sasuke-kun, you ruined my disguise" he said

He then made some hand signs before biting his thumb to draw blood "Kuchiyose no jutsu"

A giant snake appeared below him and he smirked while taking off the melted face. "I think you deserve to know my name" he said "You can call me Orochimaru"

None of the genin heard him, though, as Sakura and Sasuke were too scared by the snake and Naruto was still recovering from the blow to his gut. He didn't waste time and got up, taking out a kunai and impaling it on the snake's head.

"A brave one, I see" said Orochimaru "But it's useless. Your little toy won't do anything"

"Damn it" Naruto muttered _"Kyuubi, lend me some chakra"_

"**Sure. Be careful, though. Don't damage your friends" **said Kyuubi

Red chakra surged from Naruto before taking the form of a fox. His features became more feral, his hair becoming spikier and his teeth and nails sharpening and growing, to resemble fangs and claws. His eyes became red with slits and his whisker marks turned wilder.

"Hmm, so I see this is the Kyuubi's jinchuuriki" said Orochimaru smirking "Doesn't matter. You're still too weak to beat me"

Naruto didn't care and charged at him. He didn't notice the hand signs that Orochimaru had made.

"**Kit, evade his hit! He's going to alter the seal!"** shouted Kyuubi, worried about how it would affect them. It was too late, as Orochimaru's hand hit Naruto's stomach and he passed out.

The Snake Sannin threw Naruto at Sakura and his neck grew towards Sasuke, who wasn't able to get out of the way before Orochimaru bit him on the neck. Sasuke screamed in pain and as soon as Orochimaru's head left his neck, he gripped it trying to ease it. Soon after, a strange marking that resembled the sharingan appeared where he had been bitten.

"You will come at me for power. This village won't have enough to teach you. Don't fight my little gift. It's a demonstration of what you can get if you come" said Orochimaru before leaving

Soon after that, Sasuke passed out, leaving Sakura as the only conscious member of Team 7.

* * *

**Karin is going to make her appearance in next half so stay tuned!**

**R&R**


	13. Chapter 13

**Here's chapter 13, containing the second part of the second exam and Karin's first appearance.  
**

"Normal speech"

_"Thoughts"_

_**"**__Inner Sakura"_

**"Kyuubi"**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**_****__  
_

* * *

Sakura was taking care of both her teammates, who were unconscious as the result of the confrontation with Orochimaru. She had taken them to a hollow tree trunk, where they were lying down with wet cloths on each of their foreheads. It had been hard for her to find a good spot to rest while looking after them, but not far from the place where they were attacked was a clearing, so she quickly moved them towards their current location. She was extremely worried about both her boyfriend and her friend, as it had been a few hours and they still hadn't woken up. At this moment, she didn't care about the exam anymore. All she wanted was for them to wake up.

Some bushes on the other side of the clearing rustled, immediately getting her undivided attention. She was relieved when the figure that came out was a squirrel, but then she saw something out of the ordinary with it. She didn't notice at first, but there was an explosive tag on its back. She was about to go help it, but she realized that it had been sent to get her out of her hiding spot, since if the little rodent went any further, it would activate the traps she had set up but at the same time, if she did go and take out the tag, she would be immediately targeted.

She inwardly cursed, being outsmarted, but she decided that the poor animal didn't deserve to die, so she threw a kunai close to it to make it ran away. It worked, but three people jumped on the clearing. They were wearing Otogakure hitai-ates, so she knew they were there for the scrolls.

"Seems like you noticed the tag" said Dosu

"Doesn't matter" said a smirking Zaku "We're here to take care of Sasuke"

Sakura didn't say anything. Instead, she threw a kunai to the side, activating one of her traps. Two giang logs came from both the sound team's sides, but before they hit, they jumped away.

"Is that all you have, girly?" asked Zaku, still smirking

"Not quite" she answered with a smirk of her own

* * *

Team 10 were still looking for their second scroll when they heard a loud noise, like two big hard objects crashing, so Ino literally dragged them towards the source of the noise. They hid behind some bushes before looking at the clearing. What they saw surprised them. Sakura alone was fending off an opponent team. Ino immediately assumed that Naruto and Sasuke had abandoned her and was about to go look for them to give them a piece of her mind when Shikamaru stopped her.

"Ino" he sighed "I know what you're thinking and no, they didn't abandon her. Look at that tree"

Ino looked towards where Shikamaru pointed and gasped when she saw what would have been her preys had Shika not stopped her, lying down unconscious.

"We have to do something!" she whispered loud enough for her teammates to hear her "Sakura can't fight while defending those two!"

"You don't even know what Sakura can do" said the smartest member of Team 10 "If it looks like she's about to lose, we jump in. Otherwise, we stay here"

"Fine" huffed Ino

* * *

Sakura cut a wire that was located in front of where she was crouching and in less than a second, a huge volley of at least a hundred kunai flew right towards the three genin. Sakura was sure she had won, but she was wrong.

Zaku shot his hands forward and, from a hole on each of his hands, shot an air current strong enough to deflect the weapons, scattering them across the clearing. Sakura cursed, as that was her last trap. She would have to fight them head on.

"I have to admit, it was a good trap" answered Kin, the only female member of the team "It would have worked, had it not been for Zaku's ability"

"Enough talking" said Dosu, walking forward "Hand Uchiha Sasuke now or we will get him by force"

"Like I'm going to do that" said Sakura getting into a battle stance

"Looks like pinky wants to fight" said Kin

Sakura rushed at them, fist cocked, and aimed at Dosu's head. However, he just caught her hand and threw her back. She turned in the air and fell on a crouching position.

"She's not even that strong" laughed Zaku "Kin, you take care of her"

"Sure thing" she said

Kin rushed towards Sakura and kneed her in the gut, but smoke formed around her and when it cleared, a log was there.

"Come and fight me!" shouted Kin

"_Damn it, I can't use any of my Suiton jutsus" _thought Sakura, who was hiding on a tree branch "_If only there was a river nearby…"_

"I'm getting bored" said Zaku, pointing his hands at the exact location where Sakura was and shot a blast of wind, hitting Sakura, who fell on the ground.

Dosu walked towards her and grabbed her hair before repeatedly punching her in the face. Bruises formed and blood came out of her mouth before Dosu let her fall back down.

"Kin, finish her" he said

"My pleasure" she said with a nasty smirk before grabbing a handful of Sakura's hair. The pink haired teen struggled to get free but Kin's grip on her hair only got stronger and it hurt her in the process "Aw, the girl's trying to get free"

"Stop playing around and finish her" said Dosu

"Don't be such a party pooper" said Kin sighing before taking out a kunai to kill Sakura. She sensed this and took out a kunai of her own. She did something that no one expected her to do. She cut her hair to get free and kicked Kin in the gut.

Team 10 decided they had seen enough and decided to move in. They jumped in front of Sakura and glared at the Oto genin.

"We won't let you harm her anymore" said Ino, taking Sakura by surprise

"Like you can do anything" said Zaku mocking them

"Already did" said Shikamaru, who was crouching and had his hands on the rat seal "Kage Mane no jutsu success"

"What did you do!" shouted Zaku "I can't move!"

"Chouji! Hurry up, I can't hold it much longer!" said Shikamaru

"Hai" said Chouji before making a hand seal "Baika no jutsu!"

His body expanded, turning him into a giant ball. The sound team was about to laugh, but they didn't have time.

"Nikudan Sensha" said Chouji before he started to roll towards them. Shikamaru had to let go of his jutsu so he didn't feel the impact of the attack. His jutsu would have succeeded had it not been for Zaku's ability, which he had once again used to stop Chouji.

"Damn it" said Shikamaru "Looks like we're going to lose"

Dosu was about to lunge forward to attack but stopped right on his track when he felt an evil chakra coming from behind the Konoha genins. Zaku ignored it and ran, only to have his arms pulled back by someone. Everyone could only watch as Zaku's arms were dislocated while he screamed in pain. The attacker then kicked Zaku in the face sending him flying right into Kin, knocked out. When the genin looked at the one responsible for the attack, they were shocked.

"Sasuke-kun?" Ino managed to whisper

Sasuke just looked at his hands and noticed that he felt stronger and faster. The others noticed he was surrounded in a purple chakra that had an evil feeling and had strange black marks all over his body.

"So this is the power that the snake guy mentioned…" said Sasuke, the vile chakra receding from his body along with the markings

"Kin, let's grab Zaku and get out of here" said Dosu "He's out of our league"

"H-hai" responded Kin, still not over the display of power. She put Zaku on her shoulder and they jumped on a tree branch, fleeing the scene before they could get attacked.

"Sasuke, what the heck was that power?" asked Shikamaru, being the first one to recover from the shock

"I don't know, but I couldn't control myself" he answered "I guess it has to do with that guy we faced earlier"

"Maybe…" said Sakura "Let's show it to Kaka-sensei later"

"Yeah, I liked how having power felt but I don't want it if it's given to me just like that" he said

"So, not that I'm not thankful, but why are you here?" Sakura asked Team 10 "I mean, you haven't even tried to get our scroll"

"Ino thought you would have needed help so we hid behind the bushes until we were sure you needed it" said Chouji

"Troublesome but true" said Shikamaru, lying on his back

"Anyway, Sakura, how about I help you with that hair of yours?" asked Ino "You're not going to let your boyfriend wake up and see you like that, are you?"

"You're right" said Sakura, moving towards Ino

"It won't take too long" said Ino

* * *

Naruto woke up to feel very lightheaded. He took in his surroundings and heard talking nearby, but didn't move since he had just woken up and his body hurt.

"_Kyuubi, what happened?"_ he asked, but got no response _"Kyuubi?"_

It was then that he remembered what had happened

**Flashback**

_"Hmm, so I see this is the Kyuubi's jinchuuriki" said Orochimaru smirking "Doesn't matter. You're still too weak to beat me"_

_Naruto didn't care and charged at him. He didn't notice the hand signs that Orochimaru had made._

_"**Kit, evade his hit! He's going to alter the seal!"** shouted Kyuubi, worried about how it would affect them. It was too late, as Orochimaru's hand hit Naruto's stomach and he passed out._

**End Flashback**

"_Damn it, the bastard sealed Kyuubi away" _thought Naruto, struggling to stand up and limping over where the other people were.

Sakura was the first to notice him and ran his way before everyone even saw him.

"Naruto-kun, you're awake!" she exclaimed before she hugged him

"How long was I out?" he asked returning the embrace

"A few hours" Sakura mumbled, her face on his neck. It was then that he noticed something different about her

"What happened to your hair?" asked Naruto

"Some Oto nin came while you were out and one of them got a hold of my hair. It was the only way to get away without getting hurt. Ino fixed it a while ago" she said "Do you like it?"

"It looks really good on you" said Naruto smiling before he kissed her forehead

"Thank you" she replied smiling

He decided he should tell her about what Orochimaru had done and his face gained a hard look "The bastard sealed my link with Kyuubi"

Since she understood the seriousness of this, she hesitantly let go and took a step back.

"Did you try to talk to her?" asked his girlfriend

"Yeah, but she didn't reply" he said "Kyuubi always answers immediately"

"Isn't your dad a fuuinjutsu master?" the pinkette asked

"Yeah, and he's also the one who sealed within me in the first place, so he should be able to restore the link" he said, his face brightening a little making Sakura smile

"That's not the only thing Orochimaru did, though" said Sasuke walking up to them

"What do you mean?" asked Naruto

"Look for yourself" said Sasuke, exposing the mark on his neck

"What's that?" said Naruto

"Orochimaru bit me in there and then said something about going to him for more power and when I woke up, I really was more powerful" he replied

"Heck, he scared away a team that Ino, Chouji, Shikamaru and I couldn't even defeat" added Sakura

"So I guess Orochimaru's hickey is not that bad, huh?" said Naruto smirking

"We better not take this lightly, dobe" said Sasuke, not in the mood for jokes "It may have side effects"

"Yeah, besides, it had an evil feeling to it" said Sakura

"It also looks like a seal, so you should also let my dad check it out to see what we can do about it" said Naruto

"Yeah, he wasn't the Yondaime Hokage for nothing" Sasuke smirked

Naruto was about to answer, but Team 10 walked up to them

"It's nice that you're up and everything, Naruto, but we still need a scroll and it would be troublesome if we don't get one" said Shikamaru

"Yeah, Asuma-sensei would be mad if we don't pass" said Chouji

"So, see you later, forehead, Naruto, Sasuke-kun" said Ino before they took off.

"We should also get going" said Naruto "We already have two scrolls"

"Yeah, and we have stayed here for too long" said Sakura

"Let's go, then" said Sasuke

* * *

Team 7 was jumping on the tree branches towards the tower when they heard three screams. They ignored it, but from the three voices that had screamed, only one remained. Surprisingly, it was Sasuke who stopped.

"I know we have to get to the tower soon but we should check where the scream came from" said Sasuke "I have a feeling about it"

"Alright, then. We scatter and meet back here if we don't find anything or half an hour pass" said Sakura

"Yosh!" shouted Naruto "Let's go"

Sasuke was the first to jump off, Naruto and Sakura not waiting much longer after him.

* * *

Sasuke sensed an extremely weak chakra to his left and assumed that was where the screams came from. He changed his direction and what he saw, shocked him. There were three bodies lying on puddles of blood and an oversized tiger lay dead near the base of a tree. He went towards the bodies and saw two males and a girl. When he checked for a pulse, he found none on the males' bodies but he was a little relieved to find that the girl was still alive.

When he took a look at her, he saw that she had red hair and pale skin. She wore glasses that were cracked most likely due to the fight he supposed she had with the giant animal and had a Kusagakure no Sato hitai ate on her forehead. He felt something weird about her and decided to take her back also because of her injuries and weak pulse.

* * *

Some time after they had separated, Naruto and Sakura went back to their meeting place, both empty handed and were waiting for the last member of their team to arrive.

"I think he found something" said Sakura "He wouldn't take so long otherwise"

"Yeah, you're right" said the blonde "You know, I would never have expected Sasuke to do something like this"

They would have kept on talking, but they saw Sasuke carrying a girl on his back and he wasn't slowing down.

"Guys hurry up, we don't have time to stop for anything now!" yelled Sasuke before catching up to them. They nodded and jumped as fast as their legs could take them. They were still puzzled about who the girl was and why Sasuke was so worried, but as if reading their minds, he decided to answer.

"I found her with an extremely weak pulse in a clearing. Her teammates were dead and there was the corpse of a tiger nearby" said Sasuke "I don't know why, but I have a feeling that she might know something important"

"She does look beaten up" said Naruto

"I just hope this bad feeling is nothing" said Sasuke

* * *

It took them less than what they had thought it would take to get to the tower, but when they did, they didn't know what to do, since the door was locked.

"What now?" asked Naruto

"I think we're supposed to open the scrolls" said Sakura as Naruto took them out

"Here goes nothing" he sighed and opened them both. A poof of smoke came from them and when it cleared, they saw their academy instructor Iruka smiling. However, his smile faded when he took notice of the girl.

"Follow me, we have to get her to the infirmary fast!" said Iruka opening the door

"Hai" said Sasuke. They all ran up a set of stairs and went in a room with a bed and some medical utilities. Sasuke laid her on the bed and backed off as the medic nin in charge of the place neared them.

"What happened?" he asked

"I found her on a clearing like that" said Sasuke "Her teammates were already dead and there was a dead tiger nearby, so I think she fought against it"

"O-orochimaru…" whispered the girl from the bed, making everyone look at her with wide eyes

The medic would have told her not to talk because of her condition, but the sole name she mentioned stopped him from doing it.

"What about him?" asked Iruka cautiously

"He killed my teammates and..." she coughed before continuing "And he said something about attacking *cough* Konoha during the finals"

Everyone's eyes widened before Iruka ran out of the room calling the Hokage.

Iruka came back with Minato, Jiraiya, Anko and Sarutobi, all with serious faces.

"Is this the girl you mentioned, Iruka-kun?" asked Sarutobi

"Hai, Hokage-sama" said Iruka

"Dear, are you sure it was Orochimaru who did what you said?" asked the Hokage

"H-hai" she whispered

"What is your name?" he said

"K-karin" she managed to get out before she passed out

"Rest, Karin-chan" said Sarutobi "You deserve it"

"Hokage-sama, I need to ask you all to leave the room so I can treat her injuries" said the medic bowing down

"Sure thing" said Sarutobi as they all stepped out of the room

"Hey, dad" said Naruto "We need your help with something"

"What is it, Naruto?"

"We also got attacked by Orochimaru" he said, making their eyes widen

"He bit my neck and a strange mark appeared" said Sasuke "And he also sealed off Naruto's link with Kyuubi"

"I was just studying the mark, as Anko also has one" said Minato

"It's the curse seal. One of Orochimaru's experiments" said Jiraiya "It has the power to grant more chakra and strength to the one with the seal but if one uses it too much, you will lose sanity and give in to Orochimaru's will"

"So, technically if I use it too much, I will become his slave?" asked Sasuke

"You could say that" said Jiraiya "But if I remember correctly, he was working on a jutsu to become immortal before he left and it required having a body at his disposal so he could transfer to it"

"He's more of a snake than what I really thought" said Minato

"How did you get it?" Sasuke asked Anko, shocked that he wasn't the only one with it

"I was Orochimaru's apprentice before he left the village. He used me as the test for the curse mark" said the purple haired woman

"As soon as I know how to remove it, I will look for you" said Minato

"Both of you are really lucky to be even here" said Jiraiya, shocking them once again "It has a 1/10 survival rate"

Deciding to change the subject for the moment, Minato focused on Naruto's own problem "Naruto, lift your shirt so I can see the seal"

"Hai, dad" he said and did as told

"Now focus some chakra anywhere" the older blonde said. Naruto did as told and the seal appeared on his stomach "He used the Five Elements seal"

"So, can you remove it?" said Naruto with a hopeful voice

"Yeah, I only have to do the Five Elements unseal" said Minato "But I have to warn you, it may hurt"

"Doesn't matter" said Naruto "I can take it"

"Alright, don't say I didn't warn you" Minato did a series of hand seals before small blue fireballs appeared on the tips of each of his fingers on his right hand. Then, he hit Naruto's stomach where his seal was with his hand. The impact left Naruto gasping for air on the floor and Sakura next to him, cradling his head on her lap. Anko and Sasuke chuckled while Jiraiya and Sarutobi shook their heads.

"Kids, you can go and rest. There are rooms for every genin who passed this part of the exam on the second floor. There should be someone there to guide you to your rooms. You have four days to just kick back and relax, since you finished on the first day" said Anko

Sasuke and Sakura smiled but Naruto was still recovering, so he only nodded. They turned around to leave, but Anko remembered something.

"Naruto, Sakura, since you are a couple, you two have a room all to yourselves" she said with a grin. Both teens blushed and walked faster while Sasuke just followed after them, shaking his head.

"You just made that up, didn't you?" asked Minato chuckling

"Yeah" she said laughing along "Think of it as a thank you gift for getting rid of the seal, Minato-sama"

"And before you even consider it, don't even dare to peek on them, Jiraiya sensei" said Minato, turning to glare at his former sensei along with Sarutobi and Anko "You know what Kushina will do if she finds out you did, don't you?"

"Hai" said Jiraiya turning white and sweating "You don't have to remind me"

"Good" said Minato

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed it! Had to sneak on my laptop to write it since I'm not allowed on it during exams.**

**R&R!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Here's chapter 14. I want to say something before you continue to read. This chapter is a filler between the second stage and the preliminaries and mainly focuses on Karin, who will be really OOC, so be warned.**

"Normal speech"

_"Thoughts"_

_**"**__Inner Sakura"_

**"Kyuubi"**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**_****__  
_

* * *

Minato, Sarutobi, Jiraiya and Anko sat on a room that was meant to be an office for the Hokage inside the tower they were in. They had been discussing the recent turn of events, namely Orochimaru's appearance, although they had somewhat expected it, due to Jiraiya's spying network.

"I would never had thought that he would come back only to destroy us" said Sarutobi sighing

"It was a good thing that your son's team decided to help that Karin girl, though, Minato" said Jiraiya

"Yeah, now at least we won't be taken by surprise when he comes" said Minato "Your spies did a good job in warning us about Orochimaru's travels"

"That's true, they warned us that Orochimaru may try something" added Sarutobi "Karin was nice enough to tell us about what happened. Speaking of her, how is she?"

"She has gotten better since yesterday. The girl was mainly exhausted, nothing too bad" responded Anko "I believe she should be awake by now"

"That's good, I want to have a word with her" said Sarutobi

"We should also inform her village about their teams" added Anko

"That may not be a wise decision" said Minato, earning a confused look from Anko "Think about it, if Karin and her team are from Kusa, then why would Orochimaru bother to tell them anything?"

"Now that you mention it, id did sound odd when she said that" said Jiraiya, bringing a hand to rub his chin "I remember that one of my spies reported Orochimaru leaving from Kusagakure a while ago. He wasn't able to find why he was there, though"

"I'll ask Karin about it, then" said Sarutobi, standing up from his chair "Jiraiya, go back to the village and alert ANBU of our unwanted guest. We don't want any more casualties that can easily be avoided"

"Hai" said Jiraiya before leaving

* * *

When Sarutobi entered Karin's room, he saw her staring off to space, deep in thought. He walked over to a chair which was next to her bed and sat there.

"Hello, Karin-chan" he said. That seemed to snap her out of her day dream and she turned towards him

"Hello, Hokage-sama" she said, not knowing why he was here. He seemed to notice her confusion and smiled

"I suppose you want to know why I'm here?" he asked. When she nodded, he continued "There are some things I need to ask you regarding Orochimaru"

"Oh, okay then" she said, looking at her hands. The sorrow coming from her could be easily felt by the older shinobi

"First, had you met him before the exams? I don't think he would just tell a genin team that isn't one of his own about his plans" he said

"Truth is, me and my teammates actually came from Otogakure. We infiltrated Kusa because of Orochimaru's orders. I suppose he wanted to involucrate another village into this" she said

"I understand that you betrayed him by telling us about his attack because of killing your teammates, but is there anything else to it that we don't know?" he asked. He cursed at himself when tears came out of her eyes and she started shaking slightly "I understand if you don't want to tell me"

"No, it's okay. I always wanted to get this out of my chest" she answered, getting a hold of herself before she continued "When I was 6, I used to live in a small village near Otogakure. My parents were retired shinobi and decided to get away from all of that. I will never forget the day when we were having dinner and one of Orochimaru's men broke down the door and came in along with Orochimaru himself…" she started sobbing at this point "H-he just walked over to us with a sick smirk and… he killed my parents in front of me"

Sarutobi frowned and embraced the girl to comfort her. He rubbed her back hoping it calmed her down and it worked.

"Thank you, I needed that" she wiped the tears out of her eyes and continued "After that, he took me to Oto and forced me to become one of his ninja. Since that day, I've wanted to get away from that village"

The Hokage knew his former student was insane, but he never expected to do something like that. To slaughter the girl's parents and then kidnap her for his own purposes was something he would not forgive, since in a way it was his own responsibility for not stopping Orochimaru when he could. He wanted to make it up to Karin and he knew just the way. He smiled at her and she looked back at him, confused as to why he was smiling.

"What would you say if I offered you a home in this village?" he asked, still keeping his smile. Her eyes widened and fresh tears streamed down, this time of happiness.

"Y-you mean that?" she asked, her face full of hope. When she saw him nod, she threw herself at him and hugged him with all of her might repeating thank you at least a dozen times.

"You're welcome" he said "I don't recall you telling me your last name, though"

"Oh, sorry" she said chuckling "It's Uzumaki"

Sarutobi gasped and his eyes widened, not believing what Karin had told him. She didn't understand what happened and looked at him confused. He then calmed down and recovered his smile, only this time it was brighter.

"You're in luck, Karin-chan" he said

"Why?" she asked. Now she was truly confused

"You already have a family in this village" he said. Now it was her turn to be shocked. Never had she expected that one coming "Do you remember anything about the team that saved you?"

"More or less" she said "All I remember are their hair colors since everything I saw was blurry"

"That's more than enough" he said "The blonde's mother is an Uzumaki"

"Really?" she said surprised about her luck. First, she managed to escape from Orochimaru alive, then she was offered a home and lastly, she was told that she already had a family in that home.

"Yeah, I just have to talk to her and her husband about it but I'm sure they will be more than willing to take you in their family" he said "Also, I know Naruto always wanted a sister"

Karin smiled, a real smile, for the first time since she thought she had lost everything when her parents were slain in front of her.

* * *

On a room inside the same tower, a blonde was waking up. When he opened his eyes, he came face to face with the sleeping face of his beautiful girlfriend and smiled, remembering the events that happened the night before.

**Flashback**

_Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke walked towards the two chunin that were sitting on a couch and they immediately noticed them._

"_You must be the team than Anko-san told us about" said one of them "Uchiha Sasuke, my partner will guide you to your room, please follow him"_

_Sasuke merely nodded and walked away with the chunin._

"_Alright you two, follow me" he said and went towards a door near the end of the hallway they were in. He noticed both teens were blushing and smirked "This is your room. It was originally for Hokage-sama and his wife, so you will have enough room. This is where I leave you"_

_When he left, the blushing blonde opened the door and both teens were left gaping in awe at the room before them. It was truly a sight to behold. There was a huge bed that could easily hold four people with enough room for each and there were nightstands at each side of the bed. There was a small living room near the main door made of three couches and a small coffee table and they saw two other doors that they supposed were the closet and bathroom. Since they were tired from everything that had just happened, they only wanted to get some sleep._

_Naruto quietly moved behind Sakura and wrapped his arms around her waist. She relaxed into him and leaned backwards into his chest._

"_You can take the bed. I will sleep in the couch" he said_

"_Naruto-kun, there's enough room for both of us on the bed, besides, remember that we already slept together on the mission to Wave when you ran away and I found you" she said blushing "Besides, I trust you more than anyone else and I like being held by you"_

_He blushed and nodded before he picked her bridal style and walked towards the bed. Both turned even redder at his actions and when they reached the bed, Naruto gently let her down on it and laid down next to her. He covered them both with the sheets and wrapped his arms around Sakura. She turned around in his embrace and kissed him. He didn't waste time in returning the kiss and they were soon into an all-out make out session. It lasted for about half an hour before they decided to go to sleep._

"_I love you, Naruto-kun" said Sakura, snuggling into his chest_

"_I love you too, hime" he said, kissing her head_

**Flashback end**

Naruto decided that he had no rush to wake her up and settled to watch his cherry blossom sleep with a loving smile.

'_I don't know why, but I feel that something good will happen today' _he thought

"_**I feel so too, kit" **_Kyuubi told him

* * *

Minato walked through the tower, deep in thought about ways to at least suppress the curse mark until he could completely remove it. He would have gone further but an ANBU appeared kneeling down before him.

"What is it?" he asked the masked ninja

"Sandaime-sama requested your presence in his office on the top floor" answered the ANBU

"I'll be right there" Minato said "Dismissed"

Once the ANBU disappeared, he made his way to the stairs. He wondered why Sarutobi would need him. Something related to Karin, he thought. When he reached the door, he knocked three times. He waited to hear the old man's voice telling him to come in and when he did, he was surprised to see his wife also there sitting on a chair smiling.

"Minato, nice of you to join us" said Sarutobi "Please take a seat"

"As I was telling Kushina here, there is another Uzumaki that survived the fall of Uzugakure, or rather the daughter of two survivors" he said

'_So that's why she's smiling' _thought Minato

"The girl that Naruto's team saved is who I'm talking about" said Sarutobi "Her name is Uzumaki Karin. I talked with her today and she told me that both of her parents were killed when she was 6 and that Orochimaru forced her to become a kunoichi. Because she didn't have anywhere else to go, I offered her to live here in Konoha"

Seeing the smile in Kushina's face, Minato made a decision.

"Sarutobi-sama, I would like to ask if we could take her in as our adoptive daughter. After all, she is related to Kushina and I wouldn't want her to lose another family member" he said

Kushina gasped and kissed him before tightly hugging him "Yes! Yes! Please Sandaime-sama, let us adopt her!"

Sarutobi smiled "That was what I knew you would decide, so I went a step ahead of you. I have the adoption papers here and I already talked about it with Karin-chan"

"You don't know how much this means to us" said Minato "Naruto's also going to have a sister"

"How old is she?" asked Kushina

"According to what she told me, she is 11" answered Sarutobi "Only a year younger than Naruto"

"Can we see her?" asked Minato

"Sure, she is in room number 216 on the second floor. She already left the infirmary, since she is alright now" he replied "Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, thank you, Sarutobi-sama" said Kushina "You have already done enough for us"

"Well, Minato, after you meet her, I would like to discuss a way in which you could pay me back" said Sarutobi smirking

'_Uh oh, I remember that smirk. I hope it's not too much'_ thought Minato "Alright"

"Don't worry, I know you will like this" he assured

* * *

Karin was lying on the bed in the room she was assigned, thinking about how her new parents would be like when a knock on the door interrupted her train of thought. She stood up and walked towards the door to see a blond haired man along with a red haired woman both smiling.

"Hi there, you must be Karin" said the blonde "My name is Namikaze Minato and this is my wife, Namikaze-Uzumaki Kushina. We are your new parents"

Her eyes widened when she saw them and they became even bigger when she recognized the man in front of her. She remembered him from the history lessons back in Otogakure saying he was the Yondaime Hokage.

"M-mom, dad" she said with tears rolling through her cheeks. Kushina smiled and hugged her in a way only a mother could. Minato soon joined her in hugging the girl.

"How about we come in so we can get to know each other?" asked Kushina in a soothing voice

Karin only nodded, the huge amount of happiness not letting her speak. She sat on her bed with her new parents sitting on each of her sides.

"We already know some stuff about you from Sandaime-sama, so how about we tell you a little about ourselves and our family?" asked Kushina

"Alright" said Karin smiling

"Well, you already know our names, so well, uhh, Minato is the Yondaime Hokage and I am an elite jounin" she said sheepishly

"Really?" she asked surprised to learn that her parents were that strong

"Yeah. Sarutobi said you were 11 years old, right?" asked Minato

"Yes, I turned eleven a month ago" she said

"Then Naruto is older than you for about a year" seeing the confusion on her face, he continued "Naruto is your older brother. His team was the one who saved you. He's blonde like myself and looks like an exact miniature of myself except that he has whiskers on his cheeks"

"I remember him" she said giggling "He's really loud, judging from the first exam"

"That's him alright" said Kushina joining in "You'll meet him soon, I promise"

There was a knock on the door and Minato stood up, groaning. Both females in the room giggled and he chuckled. When he opened the door, he saw Kakashi standing there with Anko.

"Sensei, I think I know what you can use to keep the seal from showing temporarily" said the cyclops

"Really?" he said, surprised that Kakashi knew

"Yeah, I have a scroll I found a while ago back at my apartment. We could go and get it" Kakashi replied

"Alright then" he said before he turned around "I need to go. Kushina, since she no longer is a participant here, how about you take her home so she can settle in?"

"Sure, honey" she said, noticing how the girl's eyes lit up when Minato said home

"Lead the way, Kakashi" said Minato

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter and the fact that Naruto now has a little sister. I promise that the next chapter will have all the preliminaries and they will not be the same matches as the original storyline. **

**R&R**


	15. Chapter 15

**You guys have no idea how sorry I am for not updating this story, but a lot of stuff has been going on in my life during the last month. I got accepted on the college I applied to, my girlfriend and I broke up because it didn't work out anymore, I started to struggle a little on school and some more stuff but I won't bother you with it since you're here to read the story, not worry about my problems.**

**I know I said that I would write all the fights on a single chapter, but if I chose to do that, the update would take even longer, so I decided to just upload this short chapter instead and try to focus on shorter but faster updates.**

**Anyway, on with the story, here's chapter 15 finally**

"Normal speech"

_"Thoughts"_

_**"**__Inner Sakura"_

**"Kyuubi"**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**_****__  
_

* * *

Five days had passed since the start of the second stage of the Chunin Exams. The number of teams had been reduced drastically. From the 26 teams that went in, only 7 managed to pass. There was also a record set by the team sent from Sunagakure, which got to the tower in only an hour and a half. However, the most shocking thing about that feat wasn't the time in which they had done it but rather the fact that not even the slightest scratch was seen in any of the team members, something that was impossible for a simple genin team.

Two teams got to the tower on the first day, those being the team from the sand village and Team 7 from Konoha. The next day, Team 10 arrived, coming with some bad news about a certain red-haired jinchuuriki taking part in the exams. They had come in looking extremely frightened about something. When Naruto had asked what had happened, Shino explained that they came across Gaara's team while they were fighting another team. The jinchuuriki had used his sand to mercilessly kill the opposing team. He crushed them to death only by closing his hand.

After that, Naruto had asked Hinata if he could talk to her. She reluctantly agreed and Sakura wished him luck.

Flashback

Once both teams had left them alone, Naruto took a deep breath.

"Hinata, I'm sorry" he said

"What are you sorry for?" she asked, sounding a little harsh for her usual gentle self

"I'm sorry for not liking you back" he replied, looking at her in the eyes "It's just that I have loved Sakura-chan since I was 7 years old and now that she loves me back, I'm not going to let her go just like that"

"Why couldn't it have been me who you loved?" she yelled, tears cascading through her cheeks from letting out something that she had bottled in for so long "What does she have that I don't?"

"Hinata, it's not about that, I just love her, but I always thought of you as a little sister" he said, shocking her. She got quiet after that.

"She's really lucky" she whispered after a while "She better really love you or I will have to deal with her"

"She does" chuckled Naruto, making her smile "Thank you for understanding, Hinata. I know you will find someone"

He moved towards her to hug her, to which she returned the embrace with tears flowing through her cheeks.

Flashback end

That wasn't the only thing that happened during those days, though. Minato had managed to put a seal that was supposed to restrain the effects of the curse seal, or as Naruto liked to call it, the pedophile's hickey. It had not been tested yet, since the battles had not started and the mark activated with anger or lust for power. The same seal had been placed on Anko.

* * *

Now, every team that passed was standing on an arena which had a giant statue of two hands holding the tiger hand seal with a huge screen behind it. In front of them, their jounin senseis along with the Hokage, Anko and a jounin that looked ill were standing. Sarutobi stepped forward to address them.

"Congratulations to all of you for passing the second stage of the Chunin Exams. Normally, we would just move on to the third part of the exam, but since we have more participants than normal, there will have to be preliminary matches. You are not forced to participate if you do not wish to, so if someone wants to quit, now is the time to do so" he said. The only raised hand belonged to Kabuto.

"I already spent most of my chakra, so it would not be wise to keep going" said the silver haired shinobi

"Yakushi Kabuto, you may leave" said the one that seemed to be the proctor as Kabuto headed for the exit "If there's no one else who wishes to quit, I will proceed to explain what this is about"

He looked at the Hokage asking for permission and when he nodded, he turned to the genin before a short coughing fit.

"The preliminaries consist of matches between two participants who will be selected randomly. The names of the two who are going to fight will be selected randomly and will be shown on that screen" he paused to begin a short coughing fit "You may face someone from your own team, so don't be surprised if that happens. The match will end when one of the challengers is knocked out, killed or if I believe it's over"

Most genin wore determined expressions, with the exception of Shikamaru, who thought it would be troublesome, and Gaara's siblings, who were becoming intimidated by their brother's smirk. The screen began to show names changing rapidly until the one on the top stopped. The last Uchiha smirked when he saw his name, but it fell when the second name was revealed.

"First match will be Uchiha Sasuke vs. Yamanaka Ino. The rest of you go to the second floor" said Hayate. Ino had not been paying attention to the screen, however, when her name was called right after Sasuke's, her heart stopped. It wasn't enough that he had told her that he didn't like her back, but now she had to fight him. A fight she knew would be impossible to win because their strength was on completely different levels and the fact that she was facing her crush didn't help in the least.

Sasuke looked at Ino as she shifted uncomfortably on her feet. It was obvious that she didn't want to fight, but it seemed that she was trying to force herself not to give up before it even started. He didn't have anything against her; she was just a girl who liked him, so he planned to end the fight fast and smooth so as to not cause her any pain.

"Ready?" asked Hayate. When he saw them nod, he brought his hand down and leapt away "Begin!"

Ino positioned herself in the traditional academy stance, trying to at least show that she could last on her own, and locked her eyes at Sasuke. She tried to read his movements, but before she could even start, he disappeared from her view. She frantically looked around trying to find him, but it was to no avail. When she finally managed to locate him, he was already behind her, bringing his hand down upon her neck. The last words she heard before she passed out were I'm sorry, bringing a small smile to her face as she fell unconscious.

Sasuke caught her before she fell and placed softly on the ground, allowing a sad smile to form on his face.

"Winner Uchiha Sasuke" announced Hayate as Asuma jumped down to pick Ino up.

* * *

Sasuke walked up the stairs with his hands on his pockets as he neared his team. When he got to them, he leaned on the rail and sighed.

"Why couldn't I have a real fight?" asked Sasuke to no one in particular

"Because Ino hasn't been focusing on training" said Asuma as he walked over

"That much is obvious" laughed Sakura

"Sasuke, I have to thank you for not beating her up" said Team 10's sensei "I take it you know she has a crush on you?"

"Yeah, I know" said Sasuke before sighing "I already told her that I don't like her back"

"I will talk to Ino after this is over to convince her to train seriously" Sakura told Asuma

"Thank you, Sakura" smiled the smoker

* * *

Back on the field, Hayate was standing alone as the names shuffled.

"Nara Shikamaru vs. Akimichi Chouji. Please come down" said Hayate

The sound of a head banging on the rail along with some chips falling could be heard. Asuma shook his head, not really looking forward to witness the match between his two male students who were also best friends. Naruto sighed, letting his head hang down.

"Naruto-kun, what's wrong?" asked Sakura

"Those two have been the best of friends since before the Academy started" said the blonde genin "I didn't really expect this to happen"

Sakura sighed as she remembered when she and Ino stopped being best friends. She knew that Shikamaru and Chouji would remain best friends, but she couldn't stop her own memories from coming back as she let a lone tear flow through her cheek. Naruto noticed this and hugged her, as if knowing what she was thinking about.

* * *

Down on the arena, both members of Team 10 were already located on their respective sides of the field.

"I won't go easy on you because you're my best friend, Shika" said Chouji, who, for once, had stopped eating his ever present chips

"This is really troublesome…" muttered Shikamaru "But if I don't become a chunin, dealing with my mom will be even more troublesome…"

"Are both of you ready?" asked Hayate, receiving two nods for an answer "Begin!"

* * *

**I will try not to take this long between updates anymore, two weeks between updates max.**

**R&R!**


	16. Important AN

Hey, guys.

Listen, I hate myself so much for not updating in almost a year but I have lost all of my inspiration for this story. I just don't know where I want to go with the plot. I can no longer write fight scenes. Trust me, I tried but they come out really strained and I hate the way they end up. In my opinion, if you write something which you like, it flows much easier, but when you don't like it as much, it feels as an obligation and I hate that feeling. It doesn't let me get creative. Now, I'm going to stick to either really really short stories or one shots. I'm writing a two shot story at the moment. I'm posting it at the same time as this AN.

Anyway, since many people like this story, I feel like it's unfair to just leave it like this, so I'm putting the story up for adoption. Whoever wants to continue my story, I just have few requests:

Please send me a general idea of what you want to do with the story

Tell me if you plan to rewrite it or just copy it the way it is

Send me the link of your version of my story so I can read it as you write it. I, as many of you, want to see this go on, but I am not able to be the one who continues

And most importantly, please wait for my permission before publishing it.

Thank you all for everything, this is not the last thing I'm going to be writing. As I said before, I'm in the process of writing a two-shot and the first chapter should be up by now. If you want to, give it a look and tell me what you think. Thanks again

**-Metalguy-**


	17. AN

Hey, guys

I know it's been only a day since the last AN but I wanted tol et you know that DOOOOOOM Lord of Waffles has adopted the story and I will be the beta for the new version. He sent me a draft of the plot he planned and I have to say I was really interested in it. I know that when new chapters start coming, you guys will like it too.

Once the new story is up, I will post the link here.

Thank you all for everything.

**-Metalguy-**


	18. Adopted Story Link

Hey, guys

DOOOOOOM Lord of Waffles has posted the first five chapters of the story. Here's the link to it:

www . fanfiction. net/s/7333311/1/Adopted_Story_A_Better_Life

Check it out because uppdates will be coming from there.

**-Metalguy-**


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